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The Independent Critic

STARRING
Dylan Smith, Gevin Booth, Hope Shanthi, Harley Bronwyn Kraft
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
Ty Huffer
RUNNING TIME
9 Mins.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE

 "In This Economy" Screening at Seattle Shorts Film Fest 
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A gleefully demented indie horror short getting ready to screen in the "Made in Washington" Block at the Seattle Shorts Film Festival, writer/director Ty Huffer's In This Economy is the first in a trilogy of horror shorts immersed in a world of demons, a world where power and money are only a couple of ritual sacrifices away. 

Darkly humorous at times and just plain dark at others, In This Economy centers around an underfunded entrepreneur, Nate (Dylan Smith), who is willing to do just about anything to pay rent to his demon landlord. 

Ty Huffer has crafted a dark, involving horror short that has the balls to go where you don't think it's going to go then, just when you catch your breath, it goes a little bit further even within the short span of its modest nine-minute running time. Smith radiates an almost Patrick Bateman-like charm as Nate, a pretty boy entrepreneur whose ambitions are sky high even if his means to get there aren't quite as high. 

Huffer lenses the film himself and makes perfect use of a dark setting for much of the film as we're never quite sure exactly what's going on and we're never quite sure just how demented Nate is and if we need to be worrying about a young woman who has kinda sorta fallen under his charms. 

Um, we need to worry. 

Catherine Grealish's original music is a sublime companion to the film, while the special effects work quite nicely within the confines of a modestly budgeted short film. While indie horror is common among low-budget filmmakers, it's not often well done and, when done badly, the special effects and lensing can absolutely ruin the film. 

It doesn't happen here. 

In This Economy feels like a film that could be and should be a longer project - fortunately for everyone, it will be. That said, it's also a short that stands nicely on its own with a constantly creepy vibe and the kind of horror story that feels just a touch more disturbing because it feels like something that could really happen. For more information on the film, visit the official website linked to in the credits or visit the Seattle Shorts website.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic