Curve (2016)

"Curve" is an Australian English-language short film from 2016, so still a relatively new movie. The amount of awards recognition it received makes it easily one of the most known works by writer and director Tim Egan. It's basically a one-person movie as we see a woman from start to finish and she is holding on with all she can and is constantly in danger of falling into a deep and dark abyss. Will she live or will she die? Imust admit I didn't really care. I do think this could have worked better with an actual story wrapped around it before or after these 10 minutes especially before. Otherwise it just has a touch of 127 Hours to it without the memorable aspects though, just including the horror/thriller aspects. The camera work was solid I guess, but as a whole I was not impressed to a level where I would recommend the film. It's a thumbs-down from me. Not recommended.

The opening shots of waves and noise I could have done without, but from that first slide and hit of anxiety, this one delivers very simply and effectively. Essentially we have a single character, dropped onto a dangerously curved smooth piece of concrete, just about clinging to it with some small friction preventing her dropping into an abyss below. Perhaps there is some meaning to be taken from it about the nature of life or something like this, but if you are thinking about this while watching it, then the film has probably failed you because for me it was a very gut level film which rode that sense of fear and dread very well.Credit to the actress, because she sells it, while the simplicity of the concept makes it easy to go with – there is not enough here to make you ask big questions or poke the logic of the situation; like the character herself, all you can do is try to survive the moment. In this way it is visually effective, and has strong sound work to add to the feeling. Like I said, the opening shots I could do without, but after this it is as simple as it is unsettlingly effective.

Palms are sweaty. Not just because it's hot outside. "Curve" is probably one of my new favorite short films. The concept is simple: a woman wakes up on a smooth, curved concrete surface, with a bottomless pit a few inches from her. What happened? Will be survive get out of there? Will she fall to her death? This is a simple idea, a primal fear. Every second of the short is extremely tense and terrifying. I instantly had many questions and got sucked into it.Laura Jane Turner, the sole actress, kills it. An unnamed character, not a single word said, and you identify to her immediately. I'm not an expert on the directing aspect, but Tim Egan did a great job. The whole short takes place in a very small space, barely more than a square meter, and the various angles saves things from getting boring. Kind of reminded me of "Buried" (that movie where Ryan Reynolds is buried alive inside a coffin). The cinematography is great too, and the visual effects are great. The absence of soundtrack and the sound design help you immerse even more in the short.Not gonna spoil anything, but the ending will kick you in the gut. At least that was the case for me. As memorable as the last shots of The Blair Witch project, The shining, The mist, Martyrs, The descent (the original ending, not the one where they cut the last minute), in my opinion.