[Short Film Sunday]
[Twin Cities Film Festival Review]

Director: Alex Sosin
Cast: Jennifer Levinson, Carson Nicely, Megan Lee Joy, Mike Bash
Screenplay: Alex Sosin
27 mins. Not Rated.

In The Canyon, four friends have ventured out into the California canyons in 1976 to honor a friend who died there one year prior. What they do not realize is that something is alive in the canyon with them, hunting them one by one, until they learn a horrible truth about the entity.

The Canyon’s biggest strength comes from the technical display that this short film is able to deliver on. Crafting a 70s-set horror tale on such a small budget is admirable but difficult to achieve, and director Alex Sosin is able to fulfill that vision. From the production design (setting your short film in the wilderness is a smart choice to cut costs) to the costumes and cinematography, there’s a solid authenticity to this short film that mostly succeeds at its given time frame. Just about everything from a technical standpoint works.

Frustratingly, Sosin’s short is a little stale, relying so heavily on tired tropes and comfortable storytelling that never felt all that fresh. It’s a familiar spin on a familiar tale that does little to rise above the ranks. It doesn’t help that there’s a healthy portion of the film that consists of characters yelling at each other in a very Blair Witch-y way. It’s an unpleasant and uninteresting storytelling tactic.

To be frank, this is a rare time where I think a longer film would have serviced the story better. There’s a sense that Sosin’s film is developing a little mythology just near the end, and I think more time to distinctly develop this story may have given it a more captivating plot. There’s no way of knowing in such a short time whether a longer format would be completely beneficial, but I like Sosin’s style and I wish the screenplay were just stronger, more distinct.

2.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe