Milk

A man faces a world full of depravities as he goes to buy milk.

This is quite a tense and dark short story that appears to present one man's personal nightmares.

A middle-aged man (Denys) is inside his home and realises that he has run out of milk. He goes outside, in search of more milk and he ends up witnessing and being tormented by people's wickedness.

The narrative begins with peacefulness, with the man sitting quietly in his darkened home. Once he goes out, the atmosphere changes entirely due to the sound effects, music, cinematography and the characters that he encounters.

The cinematography and sound effects play a significant role in this story. Once he leaves his property, the cinematography changes from colour to black-and-white, creating a sort of downbeat atmosphere. While he is outdoors, there is also a haunting score and the constant sounds of incomprehensible whispering. These elements develop a sinister atmosphere, and they show how the main characters views the world: as a place that is cruel, dangerous and wicked.

Mclean also worked on the editing and does a particularly interesting job with the scenes that involve fast cutting. The use of fast cutting techniques and the loud sound effects make these moments quite tense and appear to signify the protagonist's panic attacks.

Denys does a great job with his portrayal of a person who seems to be afraid of the world and might be suffering from agoraphobia. He appears to be religious and he sees the world as been populated with depraved people. He comes across a woman being sexually assaulted and a group of lowlifes in an underpass, who appear to be drug addicts. These vile individuals behave in ways that make them almost inhuman, more like monsters. No peacefulness seems to exist outside the man's home.

This could be described as a psychological horror film and one that explores the mind of a troubled individual and the disturbing ways in which he experiences the world. With an intriguing plot, great cinematography by Hagen Maddock and very effective use of sound effects, this achievement deserves a lot of praise.