Starring Ged McKenna, Paterson Joseph, Eiry Thomas and Gwen Ellis

Written and directed by Geraint Morgan

Peter (Ged McKenna) is an arcade owner in for a prostate exam from a slightly sinister doctor (Paterson Joseph). But his prostate is the least of Peter’s concerns. His wife Linda (Eiry Thomas) snores, his business is on the ropes because of high roller Geronimo (Gwen Ellis) who cleans out a machine every time she comes in and he just can’t sleep. But it’s okay, the doctor prescribes him Erebus (Rebecca Trehearn) a sleep app that will talk him into sleep. But not rest…

Geraint Morgan’s movie, part of the Beacons series of Welsh short films on iPlayer, is a jaunty nightmare that denies you certainty but gives you more options than a fruit machine. It could be a mundane horror story. It could be a supernatural story. Everything you see is open to interpretation and the only certainty is how much Geraint Morgan does with a tiny location and cast. Trehearn’s deceptively tranquil voice is the calm undercurrent to an increasingly feverish nightmare, one that McKenna’s hapless Peter experiences with growing panic. McKenna has a difficult job here, showing us a deceptively simple character who is anything but that. It’s a great performance, spikey and unlikable and pitiable. Joseph is great too as the doctor, playing the sort of slightly blank-eyed joviality that slowly turns from likable to chilling to flat out alien. He gets all the best jokes, and the smile never reaches his eyes and you can’t look away, even less than Peter can.

The other characters are less well served. Ellis is great as the murderously angry and possibly non-human Geronimo but like Eiry Thomas’ Linda she’s more something for Peter to react to than a character. That’s a deliberate choice, and a successful one but how you feel about it will dictate how you feel about the story. The ending will be divisive too, both conclusive and perhaps in need of a little more specificity. I liked it, I had to make sure I liked it but I do.

Verdict: Short movies, done right, are like coffee: concentrated bursts of invention and tone. Geronimo’s a good cup of coffee and I’m thrilled to see what Morgan does next. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart

Geronimo is on iPlayer as part of the fourth season of Beacons