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★★
Directed by: #MayankMekala
Starring: #AdhvikaAbbagani and #MitulMekala
Short Film Review by: Alexandra James
Dominion is a short horror film that follows a young girl haunted by a strange entity. The film begins in a mysterious way with a young boy trapped in a room. It’s dark, isolated and with just a few blankets on the floor. He is scared and alone, and there are hints that there is some form of abuse involved whether this be his parents or a guardian. When the opportunity arises for the boy to escape, he takes it without thinking of the dangers that may lie ahead. As he takes off in the middle of the night, a tragic accident occurs that puts an end to the little boy’s life. Left bloodied in the road, something strange and ethereal occurs and the narrative quickly jumps to a year later from the accident.
The story did appear confusing, and difficult to follow. It would have helped to not include the visual effects and have the story jump to a year later, as this was slightly jarring and can make the audience lose focus from the plot. Unfortunately, this was a downfall to the film as once you lose track of the storyline, it is very hard to get back on the rails again and digest the rest of the story. As this is a horror film, an element of mystery needs to be embedded within the heart of it, this is clear within Dominion and keeps the audience in the dark when it comes to the twists and turns that lie within. However, there is sometimes a danger of keeping the audience too in the dark. There needs to be that element of fear and some shock scenes to keep us drawn in and engaged throughout. This was very much lacking throughout the film.
The children were the protagonists and did in fact stay in character and focused throughout. It is important to note that this short horror film cast without any prior acting experience, a small budget and limited equipment. It is incredible to see what can be achieved with such limited resources. The locations used were great, and the scenes captured were distinctive and diverse. It would be amazing to see what could have been captured with professional cameras and a bigger budget. Dominion included some interesting themes, however, these needed to be developed upon further to provide the audience with that shock factor we all crave.
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