Cycle (Short)
It requires being said right off the bat that I love the ’80s movie feel of Alexis Ramirez’s short thriller, “Cycle.” From the production company logo to the synth score by Brennan Scott (who also wrote the script) to the house that the action takes place in, I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching something from the decade of “E.T.,” “Fatal Attraction” and “Friday the 13th.” The premise is simple enough- a woman (Heather, played by Ruth Ipince) is first seen in her bedroom, strangling someone in her bed, although we don’t see someone there to be strangled. And then, there’s a knock at the front door, and it’s another woman (Meg, played by Katherine Black), whom Heather is asked over about an audition both of them are going out for. Heather knows she won’t have a chance against Meg, and hopes that she will drop out. That’s when tensions rise, and Ramirez brings us further into the mindset of Heather in ways that are surprising and potent. The result is a short, bold thriller that takes us down a rabbit hole we don’t see coming.
