Venari

Directed by Scott Driver

2022

4am Pictures

Short film director Scott Driver enters 2022 with a brand-new short film called Venari which sees the director move into much darker territory than ever before.

We open as a man drives alone in a 4x4 to a large country home and after pulling up, we see him enter the house and unpack his shopping methodically. A shot from a window gives the short an air of voyeuristic mystery, underpinned by the seeming disappearance of the man’s pet cat.

After quietly picking apples the slow pace suggests a tranquil and rather boring life but we quick cut to the man outside a dilapidated greenhouse wielding a shotgun. And later that evening, the man carves a slab of meat giving these apparently “normal” acts a dose of unease.

Driver previously directed Cheeseburger (our review) which was about another lonesome male trying to find a connection – but this time in the digital dating world. In Venari, a much darker tone is created with shots that linger and the orchestral music of picked strings providing an atonal ticking clock like tension.

[Minor plot spoilers]

At the halfway point, the short has an explosive and surprising denouement. As our strange protagonist edges towards a locked door, he is attacked and knocked out by a woman. She is one of three kidnapped people bloodied and bruised that are kept in this sealed room. And shots of rusty metal chains and bloodied legs ratchet up the seriousness of their predicament.

In Latin, Venari means to hunt and suddenly the realisation that the shots of bunnies from earlier in the short are not the only animals this psychotic likes to prey on.

With possibly only moments to make their escape before the man wakes, a man and young girl unlock themselves free as a woman runs to find a phone to call for help. But after re-capturing the two, our villain grabs his gun and chases the still-free woman into the woods.

Venari shines with some very superb shots from cinematographer Nicola Cowley, especially an extremely long shot during the film’s suspenseful chase at night. First-class use of music also works well within the story, with the score highlighting the scares and some well-chosen songs to open and close the short. A minimalist and almost mute central performance from Luke Boyden-Jones helps maintain this foreboding atmosphere too.

The final sequence I won’t spoil but there’s echoes of Hannibal at a dinner table and it also delivers a creepy and unsettling final shot.

Venari ends as a well-crafted slice of horror locking-in plenty of frights and shocks along the way. The measured build-up helps makes the reveal a satisfying surprise and like the protagonist, the short will capture an audience with its ghoulish but engaging terror traits.

★★★★☆

Michael Sales