I have been a bit of a fan of David's for some years and I happened, by chance to see this. Perhaps my fandom gives me an unfair bias in his favour but nevertheless, this is a pretty decent short.
Diabolical Properties has a really dark premise if a little strange. Essentially it's about a bloke who owns a prop shop with pretty much anything imaginable. A scorpion prop in his collection doesn't appreciate being handled and turns whoever touches it into stone statues, usually warped almost beyond recognition. This, of course happens to our main guy.
The movie was quite pleasing. Even I wasn't expecting much from it considering Dave's a puppeteer (and he wrote, produced, directed, edited and shot the film) but it seems he is far from a one-trick pony. The script is well written, the odd joke here and there and a REALLY creepy store owner. The actors gave believable performances for the most part and the sound is nice and clear. The background music is perhaps a little out of place at times and the lighting is a little dodgy inside the shop, but those are the only worthwhile complaints I can think of.
A recent re-edit I saw made the premise much better hidden and the film just flows much better. For a first-time effort knocked together in a weekend by one man, making it to Sundance is pretty damn impressive! Overall, this is a bloody good effort. Deep joy, Mr. Barclay!
Diabolical Properties has a really dark premise if a little strange. Essentially it's about a bloke who owns a prop shop with pretty much anything imaginable. A scorpion prop in his collection doesn't appreciate being handled and turns whoever touches it into stone statues, usually warped almost beyond recognition. This, of course happens to our main guy.
The movie was quite pleasing. Even I wasn't expecting much from it considering Dave's a puppeteer (and he wrote, produced, directed, edited and shot the film) but it seems he is far from a one-trick pony. The script is well written, the odd joke here and there and a REALLY creepy store owner. The actors gave believable performances for the most part and the sound is nice and clear. The background music is perhaps a little out of place at times and the lighting is a little dodgy inside the shop, but those are the only worthwhile complaints I can think of.
A recent re-edit I saw made the premise much better hidden and the film just flows much better. For a first-time effort knocked together in a weekend by one man, making it to Sundance is pretty damn impressive! Overall, this is a bloody good effort. Deep joy, Mr. Barclay!
