The Catfish

Directed by Nisaro Karim

2025

Five Pence Productions

The Catfish is a new 10-minute short from writer-filmmaker-actor Nisaro Karim who, with production company Five Pence Productions, has consistently created a multitude of short films over the years in the Midlands.

This particular film opens with a dark and ominous glowing red light, no doubt symbolising the passions and anger we’re about to experience along the way. That’s owing to a man (King Davies Dogbe) bound by cable ties in a room, bloodied and beaten with little idea of how he got there.

We subsequently cut back to a regular suburban home where a woman (Anita Kayani) sends ‘loving’ voice messages to her partner across a tablet and phone.

However, this seemingly normal behaviour between two people meeting up is undercut as we are shown the woman exiting her bathroom donning a hazmat suit. I’m certain this isn’t going to be your normal catch-up at Nando’s. Although the outfit would prevent Piri-Piri from getting everywhere.

Nevermind.

You won’t be shocked to find that all is not well in this relationship. Anyone who has seen Netflix documentaries with Catfish in the title knows that the term often leads to horrific consequences. But rather than a financial scam, the woman enacts much more physical revenge on the man.

We’ve checked out a number of Nisaro Karim’s films over the years. Each one having a very dark tone and even people captured against their will, with masks and two-sided personalities at the forefront of his imagery.

A woman in suburbia and an intruder is the subject matter of Karim’s short The Heath (review), whilst a blindfolded man tied to a chair opens another of his films called The Game (review). Maybe these comprise an unofficial trilogy of sorts but it does have the feel of something we’ve sort of seen before.

A bit more variation to the themes he often incorporates wouldn’t go amiss, but true to their genre, this “trapped victim” situation can be regularly seen in many horror flicks. But perhaps too regularly.

From a sharp axe to a twisted teeth pulling sequence, the short doesn’t scrimp on the nastiness though. Your enjoyment however may be related to how much of a fan you are of the torture-horror seen in the Saw films or Hostel. It also had echoes of 2022’s Fresh (our review) where a similar happy relationship-turned captive narrative is played out.

To be fair, the back and forth non-linear narrative is a good way to reveal different aspects of the story and the performances are overall well done for the roles. But there’s not a great deal more here than what’s on the surface. You could guess every beat. And the music stings are loud and a bit of the nose, creating a confusing tone.

Yet there are some interesting and intriguing technical choices. The well handled red lighting provides an oppressing atmosphere as needed. And the shot selections are varied which is a huge bonus in shorts given their limited runtime.

The short therefore ends as a solid if a bit of a forgettable slice of horror-drama which provides little in the way of scares but a fair chunk of sleazy torment and gore. If that sounds your bag, then feel free to go on a date with The Catfish, just be wary of the warning signs beforehand.

★★★

3 / 5

Michael Sales

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