PATTERNS *** Canada 2019 Dir: Bj Verot. 8 mins
This chilly Canadian short film nods to modern technophobic sci-fi and THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and has a fine lead performance by Steven Ratzlaff. The impressively ominous extended opening tracking shot prowls around a festively adorned home from the outside. Family man Ratzlaff gets an ominous message on his house phone and we flash back to two weeks earlier at “Frontier Minds”, a company that has exploited massive technological advances in medicine to use patterns on monitors as a means of controlling / curing conditions from migraines to sexual failings (“You can kiss that erectile dysfunction goodbye!”). The throwaway warning / promise “not everyone is compatible, it is 100% safe” offers a portent of sinister things to come. Slickly made and well shot in Manitoba, this technically excellent film warrants an expansion into a longer format.
Review by Steven West
