IN THE MOUNTAINS
2D charcoal and pen animation and an ominous score (in fact, my six-year-old son heard it in the background and exclaimed, “That’s so scary!”) IN THE MOUNTAINS quickly lays a foundation of terror. After our couple goes for a hike and discovers footprints, among other items, at the peak, they realize they are not alone in the wilderness. What they come across in a cave changes the trajectory from uncomfortable to full-on punk horror. That’s the only way I can describe it. IN THE MOUNTAINS compresses a feature to its essential elements in the darkest way possible. Writer-director Wally Chung also lends his voice to the project. You’ll be thinking about this short long after its five-minute runtime.
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Year:2022
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Runtime:5 minutes
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Language:English
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Country:USA
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Rating:Mature
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Director:Wally Chung
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Producer:Wally Chung
The ending of the film is a double twist. The first had me yelling at the screen. The second was so shocking I audibly exclaimed, “Okay, that’s AWESOME.” Writer-director-producers 
You immediately fantasize about all the fun things you would do together. There’s an undeniably brilliant poker scene. But things get weird, and Clay has second thoughts about helping Whit for eternity. The chemistry between Whitmer Thomas and director Clay Tatum is otherworldly. Pun intended. They make awkward endearing.
The script, penned by our two leads, might seem straightforward at first but do not get comfortable with the buddy comedy genre. The Civil Dead goes in a direction I did not see coming, though, in retrospect, I should have. From hilarious to shockingly dark, the film tackles loneliness in a brutally honest way. This one is going to haunt you in the best way possible.
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