Don’t Text Back (Short – Fantasia Fest)
**Seen for the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival.
So that was what the crystal was for…
If you’re up for a blend of women kicking toxic masculinity’s ass, New Age witchcraft and insightful, and sometime silly, humor, there are far worse things you can do than seeking out Kaye Adelaide & Mariel Sharp’s “Don’t Text Back!,” which will be playing alongside “Bleed With Me” at Fantasia Fest. This is the sort of short film that is always a pleasure to watch, because it sets up a world in a short amount of time, and still manages to surprise you with some of the things we see along the way. Some humor is always welcome when it comes to horror.
We begin with Kelly (Danielle Lapointe) showing up at the home of Jaren (Nancy Webb). After a brief joke involving the latter’s name (which rhymes with Karen, prompting an unusual comeback from Kelly), we get down to business. It turns out that Kelly went on a couple of dates with this guy Will, and it didn’t really click for her. But he persisted, and sent her a necklace, hoping she would come to see his band perform. While she’s not interested, she has to keep texting back, or the necklace will strangle her. Thankfully, Jaren knows what’s up, and is up for the challenge of going up against this type of dark magic.
I would imagine any guys who might find this offensive probably share a similar mindset as Will, because the movie Adelaide and Sharp have made is warm and enjoyable every step of the way, while also providing plenty of intriguing horror elements to make it an effective genre film. Most of all, the film has a great sense of humor that also gets real about the female side of heterosexual dating, and honest about why certain men can turn them off when the get clingy. Regardless of your orientation on the matter, “Don’t Text Back!” has entertainment, and info that all of us could probably use to help us treat one another better moving forward.
Don't Text Back – Short Film Trailer from Mariel Scammell on Vimeo.
