Touch
2022 · 7m · USA
Directed by Justin Burquist
Genres: crime, horror, mystery, thriller
An apathetic police unit brings in a mysterious young woman with psychic abilities to help solve a grisly homicide; when she touches a person, she witnesses the crime in reverse, ultimately revealing the killer.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Psychic woman reverses crime scenes via touch in a $10k indie procedural — exactly the kind of high-concept pitch that pitches better than it plays. Fine for a Tuesday.
A reverse-chronology psychic procedural on a ten-thousand-dollar budget is a forgivable genre exercise, but the comparisons to The Dead Zone overstate what seven minutes can deliver. Solid micro-budget genre work, no more.
Reverse-chronology psychic visions on a $10K budget is an interesting structural bet, but the procedural-plus-supernatural pitch can go either way depending on the execution. 7 minutes is tight enough to forgive a lot.
Reviews
Visually captivating, and striking in its originality — a fantastic short that will have you watching it again and again.
This short is written very well and I would love to see this further explored or redone into a feature film.
Festivals
- Berlin Short Film Festival, Best Horror Short Film + People's Choice Award
- San Diego Film Festival 2023, Best Narrative Short Film
- Monster Fest 2022
- San Diego Comic-Con Independent Film Festival 2023