It’s not often that I review short films outside of reviewing an entire block from a film festival. With that said, there are those rare occasions when you see one specific short film that deserves to be praised. That’s the case with Alex Noyer’s fantastic Conductor.
Josh (Michael Maclane) is wannabe musician competing in drum machine competition at his local mall. With a crowd of onlookers, many of whom are waiting for their crack at the machine, and his jerk friend on hand recording the whole event, Josh struggles to program a simple beat. Josh nervously fumbles through the keys, unable to get anything on beat. As the crowd begins to become more hostile towards Josh, a ray of sunshine appears in the form of Alexis (Kelli Jordan), a skilled sound engineer. Alexis is able to help Josh calm down and walks him through creating a beat. Turn on the metronome, relax and listen to the clicks. Feel the rhythm.
It works. Not only is Josh able to get his act together, but it’s good enough for him to win the competition. As Josh celebrates with everyone on hand, Alexis pops her headphones on and dances off. That’s when we realize that this little drum machine is connected to a deadly contraption with one unfortunate victim (Jukka Hilden) strapped in. As the beat plays on the contraption kicks into high gear and the results are a bloody nightmare.
I absolutely love Conductor. It’s hard to go into too much detail without spoiling things, especially given that it is a short film, but this is a film very much in the realm of things like Saw and Cube. And the reveal comes out of left field. The majority of the film is this humorous look at someone trying to play a drum machine and then before you can say Korg in turns into a gore fest of epic proportions. And the gore is fantastic and brutal, thanks to some gnarly practical effects from Robert Bravo.
This is Noyer’s first film as director, but he’s been a producer previously, most notably on the documentary 808. 808 is the story of the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the birth of electronic music, so it’s no surprise that Noyer used electronic music as the basis for his directorial debut. From just a technical standpoint, Conductor is one of the best put together short films I have seen in recent memory, showcasing great skill from Noyer. One has to wonder what Noyer will do next. Will Conductor eventually become a feature film like great horror shorts of the past? There does seem to be some potential there, but if not I’d love to see a feature film from Noyer that further bridges electronic music and horror while upping the stakes with even more practical effects. Whatever route he chooses to take, I’m convinced that Noyer has a great horror feature in his future.
Conductor has screened at a handful of film festivals so far and I have to imagine more are on the horizon. Check the schedule for all horror film festivals playing near you and if you see Conductor on the lineup, get yourself a ticket. In the meantime, enjoy this teaser that offers up a little taste of what to expect.
