Midlands Review of Open Up
midlandsmovies • November 3, 2020
Open Up
Directed by Rob Gurney
2020
Digital Mechanic
Open Up is a new short film from first-time director Rob Gurney which follows an ancient vampire during the 2020 pandemic.
We are introduced to female vampire Tereni Fairuz in voiceover as she dresses herself in a leather outfit and dark make-up before a bombastic string score kicks in as the title appears.
“Do you know what lockdown means to a vampire?” she asks as she attacks a lonesome man at night in a flurry of anger and blood splatter.
Wiping her mouth of blood and leaving the victim’s body spent in the trash, our protagonist laments the current lockdown whilst also reminiscing over her experience of previous historical plagues.
The night-time photography is great with a clear, crisp and sharp image capturing the dazzling lights and shadowy alleys of (Leicester’s) city streets as our vampiress walks amongst the mostly empty roads and paths.
She is played well by the sultry alternative model Lady Viper, whose stage name could have been used without change here. However, the character’s name of Tereni Fairuz could also hint at darker symbolism with ‘teren’ sometimes meaning to rip apart or tear part of a creature’s body. Fairuz has its origins in Arabic as ‘victorious’, so both suitably apt for this vampiric fable.
One area of improvement could be the voice sound though. Some more dynamics or effects on the vocals (bit of delay, reverb or echo perhaps) could have added some much need depth and subtlety to the recording. With the dry delivery, the monologuing therefore at times feels a little flavourless and bland which could be fixed with another pass through ProTools.
Despite that, the film continues to explore some parallels with our current pandemic. “It’s only nature doing what nature does”, proclaims Tereni. And it’s a fact that diseases that plagued our past ancestors also played a part in the creation of myths like vampires too.
With a unique take on legends from an old world, the Covid metaphor spawns a number of ways to look at the untimely circumstances of the present-day world. And although it plays a bit like a showreel for both the star and the fantastic photography of the director, don’t keep your distance with this short.
Check out its infectious delights in a film that holds a gothic mirror up to our contemporary world to reflect our own dark anxieties.
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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