O.I.
2018 · 18m · Canada
Directed by N'cee Van Heerden
Genres: dark comedy, horror, sci-fi
Tones: absurdist, dark, darkly comic
Barry wakes up with a genuinely original idea — and discovers he's the only one immune to it; anyone he shares it with has their head literally blown apart. Cornered in a bar, he tries to explain why he can't tell anyone what he's come up with.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Finally—someone took the most tired metaphor in creative writing and asked what it would actually look like if ideas could *kill*. Van Heerden commits to the bit with such gonzo earnestness that the shaggy-dog bar monologue becomes a genuine horror premise, which is exactly the kind of subversive candy I can't get anywhere else.
The film occupies an uneasy space between Kaufman-esque conceptual comedy and practical-effects body horror, and while that hybrid sensibility is of the moment, the execution feels more interested in the gimmick than in interrogating what it's actually saying about originality—a missed opportunity for real formal rigor.
The smartest choice here is the decision to shoot the revelation of Barry's idea as almost pure *conversation*—that restraint makes the few moments of gore land with actual weight, and the comedic timing of the bar scene proves Van Heerden understands that silence and stillness are more unsettling than spectacle on a shoestring budget.
Reviews
A simple concept perfectly executed.
A clever horror short about a very deadly original idea.
Festivals
- Fantastic Fest 2018
- Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2019
- FilmQuest 2018, Best Short Screenplay
- LA Comedy Festival, Best Of The Fest
- Raindance Film Festival 2018