(spoiler free)
The opening moments of Brett Chapman’s new environmental horror short film, Kiddo sees a bus load of teenagers being driven to an undisclosed location. They are in high spirits, but one passenger – an older woman: the titular Kiddo – is less than enthused. Immediately this sparks intrigue; why is her mood so different to the others? It’s not long until audiences will find out why, but not before Chapman serves up some further questions by way of a flashback sequence that runs parallel to this main story.
Yes, after this interesting start the events revert back to an earlier scene also featuring Kiddo. She’s sitting at a dinner table with the man who was driving the bus and three other relations of his. Whilst this could be considered a fairly harmless scenario the film’s sound design, which captures the squelching of meat being carved and the buzz of flies that fill the room, ensures that its more sinister nature is established in undeniable fashion. So much so that it feels like it could be inspired by the truly skin-crawling dinner sequence from Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. And the comparisons to Hooper’s film don’t end here as the more the film unfolds the more violent it becomes, with certain moments feeling very familiar in content to the horror classic.
However, there’s much more to this short film than the increasing incidence of violence and gore. As you might have guessed from its environmental genre classification, Kiddo has something to say too. It attempts to get its audience to look at an accepted norm in a different light, and it achieves this with ease. Its simple metaphorical storytelling creates a satisfying aside to the mysteries of the plot that are gradually revealed throughout. Its horror style suits the message it conveys well and creates a strong image to reinforce its point. Not all audiences will agree with its messaging, but the successful execution of its communication cannot be debated. From the aforementioned sound design, to the make-up and SFX work, as well as the impressive costume and set design, Kiddo features an abundance of craftsmanship that adds a level of authenticity to the production that makes it all the more convincing.
Ultimately, Kiddo conveys a horrifying metaphor by way of its simple, yet effective storytelling. This is made possible by the strength of its production, which operates at a very high standard across the board. And whilst its central message will provoke debate the quality of the filmmaking itself is indisputable.
Written by Hamish Calvert
★★★★
Kiddo is available to watch for free HERE.
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