Starring  Paul T. Taylor, Lawrence Varnado

Directed by Joe Manco

Little Spark Films, at festivals now

A man wakes up in a cell and is interrogated for information he claims he doesn’t have. But as the torture escalates, it becomes apparent that there is something else happening aside from his battle of wills.

Paul Kane adapts his own short story from 2017 collection Nailbiters for this grisly 40 minute short. And it’s pretty bleak. Andy Brooks (Paul T Taylor, Pinhead in Hellraiser: Judgment) awakens in a dark cell before being dragged into a torture chamber presided over by an unnamed torturer, a menacing Lawrence Varnado… and then the nightmare begins.

For the next half hour we witness Brooks being subjected to an increasingly hideous series of tortures due to his unwillingness to reveal whose side he’s on and who he’s working for. One genuinely believes he’s initially telling the truth, though as time goes on, the visits from dead people seem to be awakening something within him. Nails hammered under fingernails and the hacking away at a wrist are just two of the miseries plied on Brooks – what will make him break?

When finally the resolution comes, it’s not so much a killer twist as a logical explanation as to what’s been going on – and there really were only a couple of possibilities. Director Joe Manco manages to create tension and genuine unease with his limited shooting time and resources, and kudos to Paragraph Taylor for a growling, pulsing score.

Verdict: While it’s hard to enjoy such an intense 40 minutes, all departments step up to deliver a quality product, and I guarantee that you’ll wince on multiple occasions. 7/10

Nick Joy