Flounder
2022 · 10m · USA
Directed by Sam Cutler-Kreutz, David Cutler-Kreutz
A water polo team's hazing ritual escalates into a dangerous series of challenges, forcing two childhood friends to confront loyalty, peer pressure, and the cost of belonging. Much of the film unfolds underwater, trapping the audience inside a suffocating cycle of toxic conformity.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Underwater 4:3 water polo hazing nightmare — the formal claustrophobia is doing real conceptual work, not just decoration. Cutler-Kreutz brothers know what they're after.
Underwater 4:3 hazing as suffocation — the formal gesture is exact, recalling the somatic dread of Lucile Hadžihalilović's Innocence. The Cutler-Kreutz brothers are operating in serious cinematic register, not after-school territory.
Underwater multi-cam (Alexa plus GoPro) in 4:3 to physicalize hazing — that's the right format choice for claustrophobia and the aspect ratio is doing genuine compression work. Clermont-Ferrand and Brooklyn FF selections back the craft.
Reviews
Like a nightmare brought to life, there's an intensity and velocity to the film that propels the plot forward. Clocking in at under ten minutes, Flounder is economically shot and well paced — it hits the sweet spot of feeling wholly contained as a short film but capable of expansion.
The Cutler-Kreutz brothers do an excellent job of embedding you in the reality of these testosterone-fuelled young men, utilising the camera in a way which is loose and visceral, reacting to the intensity of the ritual in a fast and direct manner.
Festivals
- Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2022
- Saguenay International Short Film Festival 2022
- Brooklyn International Film Festival 2023