Rick and Ruby: two buddies confront pop culture stereotypes in gory fashion
Scott Woodburn, “Rick and Ruby” (2019) Playing like an episode in a never-ending road-movie series
Tag: Horror
Australian and New Zealand Films
Clean: finding peace and freedom from trauma by helping others deal with theirs
Lachlan McLeod, “Clean” (2022) As this documentary demonstrates, there’s much more to the word “clean”
Australian and New Zealand Films
Mongrel: minimally styled film posing the question of what makes a human or a monster
Nik Kacevski, “Mongrel” (2021) A very minimalist little film, featuring just two actors, “Mongrel” poses
Together Forever: maudlin romance tragedy becomes a tale of murderous greed and a revenge vendetta
Rebecca C Scott, “Together Forever” (2022) A well-made film, driven almost entirely by its characters’
Laboratory Conditions: tight little mystery film with an unexpected horror twist
Jocelyn Stamat, “Laboratory Conditions” (2017) A very tight little film with an unexpected twist, “Laboratory
The Guardian’s Tale: fairy-tale conventions upturned in clever sci-fi fantasy short
Gordy Higgins, Ryan Zujic, Christoffer Klungerbo, “The Guardian’s Tale” (2012) Told as a delightful fairy
academy: a tale of a post-apocalyptic utopia practising and teaching a flawed code of ethics
Ian Salazar, “academy” (2020) In the not too distant future, when Western civilisation has collapsed
Australian and New Zealand Films
The Quiet: outer space as metaphor for inner space in a film of duality and opposites
Radheya Jegavetha, “The Quiet” (2020) Created entirely by director Radheya Jegavetha and his father Jay
Actuary: terse sci-fi psychological drama on technology and determinism
Matt Hill, “Actuary” (2020) In the not so distant future, an insurance company develops an
Eldritch Code: sci-fi horror short on corporate exploitation of workers
Ivan Radovic, “Eldritch Code” (2017) Partly told in a world-weary voice-over narration by the main