David Black reviews Dia Taylor's "Little Miseries" of Oz Femme Fatales of Horror Month.
Dia Taylor is no stranger to the Australian Short Film Network Journal and has been one of the great talents interviewed for OFFoHM.
It logically follows that we should review one of her films and there is no better choice than her Zombie short, "Little Miseries."
The quality of this film is outstanding, from the opening drone shot to the songs by local gothic band - Death of Art and the cinematography of Ben Luck and Mark Kenfield.
The atmosphere really stands out due to the lighting by Glen Cook. Glen also finds time to play a background zombie. There were also a couple of gory props in there
supplied by myself. I won't take credit though because I bought them from Gorefx, who have supplied numerous local movies.
Brooke Moss stars as Ashlyn Walker in this moody, post apocalyptic movie. Her peformance is par excellence as she goes through the whole gamut of emotions, which really helps give this an epic feel.
Kristian Hilton puts in a unique performance as the zombie Cole. Lorraine Fabb plays Cassie, a survivor from a colony. She brings a grittiness that lends authenticity. Vincent Kos plays Bradley, the leader of the survivor community who is faced with hard decisions. When we first see the survivors at the refuge, it looks straight out of a scene from The Walking Dead.
I really loved the choice of shots and editing. The cut ins where the camera shows us the night sky through the trees was an interesting effect that helped to create a feeling of tension. Combined with a suitably apocalyptic colour palette, the film has vibe. The pacing is well done for a thriller,
rather than an action movie.
Many zombie movies go for a hard paced, all out gorefest, but I liked the Alfred Hitchcock feel to this one. It gives enough room for some headspace.
I'd certainly recommend this one to the zombie fans out there.
You can watch this amazing film here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRRuKnh2XOA