Chasing Euphoria

A short psychological thriller written and directed by Shayaan and starring Aryan Sadaat, Riccardo Habet and Bakh Syeda.

Two young best friends (Sadaat and Habet) are spending a night out in the city. Then one of them spots a girl (Syeda) sitting by herself and he decides to approach her. She rejects him, however she is keen on his friend and the two of them begin dating, much to the other guy's annoyance. As the two of them continue to blossom their relationship, the rejected begins spying on them and his aggressive and disturbing behaviour spirals out of control.

This short has an intriguing plot, beginning as a drama about relationships before turning into a thriller about stalking. As Sadaat's character becomes more and more obsessed with the couple, the bond he has with his friend is gradually destroyed as he clearly envies his ability to get along with girls and they turn against each other, arguing fiercely. The character development involving Sadaat's character is the heart of the film as the screenplay follows him as he falls into a personal abyss, drinking heavily, isolating himself and being consumed by anger and jealousy. The tension and drama rapidly build up as he targets the couple. It is also worth mentioning that there is a reference to one of the director's previous films.

As vivid as the tension and drama are, the ending feels disappointing and that would be because it does not directly explain what actually happened. If it was intentional to have a story that ends with question marks and leaving the viewer to guess the events that took place then that was probably a mistake as a more obvious conclusion would had made the film's messages more evident. Also, regarding aspects that could had been improved, there is a fast cutting that shows what appears to be sparkles. Evidently, this was intended to help reveal the character's troubled state of mind. It is an interesting effect but maybe unnecessary.

As Sadaat portrays the character whose actions are the main focus of the plot, his performance is vital for the film to have an effect and Sadaat pulls it off terrifically. Basically, his character is a youth whose personality changes throughout the story, turning from a simple guy into an angry fiend with sinister intentions who becomes obsessed with the relationship between his friend and the girl and is broken because he is unable to have a romantic relationship. Habet's character goes through good and bad experiences as he finds happiness with romance yet has to deal with his friends abusive and self-destrutive actions.

Psychological deterioration, self-destruction, stalking, obsession and jealousy are major themes in this story and they are explored through Sadaat's character and so is the idea of being unable to find romance. More cheerfully, this story involves friendship and the joys of romantic relationships.

This is a film anout a person who struggles to deal with their personal issues and ends up being a danger to themself and others. The intriguing plot, the tension, the drama and the strong performances add value, however some viewers might be unhappy with the unclear ending.