The Continuum – So Pretty & So Dark

So Pretty

“Which one would you choose?”

Swift shot: A late night ride on the metro opens the eyes of Lisa (Melanie Crim). Sean (Jeremy Palko) sees her reading a Twilight book and decides to challenge her beliefs. Running at just under eight minutes, So Pretty shocks and revitalizes the American vampire legend.

It also teaches a lesson about judging the surface of a person, the superficial, the known vs. the mysterious unknown. Perhaps even a slight pulse resonates in the story about the primal realities that survival demands.

Ultimately though, So Pretty does a fantastic job of reminding us that vampires don’t glitter in the sun! So Pretty is in “The Continuum” series of short films and Director/Editor Al Lougher deserves some attention for putting together a compelling little film written by James Williams with a dark, interesting balance of fear using contemporary, pop-culture, themes to keep the message on point.

So Dark

“One weakness vampires and humans still have in common . . . hope.” – Agent Wilburn

Swift shot: Following Sean’s last event on the metro, the Miami-Dade police are left to clean up the mess that he left behind. But, they need to take a back seat to Agent Wilburn (Keri Maletto).

Leaving right off where So Pretty closed curtain, the FBI has sent in a specialist to interview the only suspect in a brutal murder. Agent Wilburn seems to know something that the local police don’t, and it is clear early on that she has an agenda with Sean.

But she doesn’t know the truth . . . which will serve to enlighten her.

I liked the frank dialog of the cops and the dark almost comic-panel framing Director of Photography Milan Spasic used in each scene. Keri Maletto first caught my eye in Quarterlifers and has only impressed me more with each performance.

Jeremy Palko is unknown to me, for now, but he clearly works well with silence, which is the mark of a fine actor. Keri Maletto turns in a believable federal agent willing to do anything to achieve the next rank . . . not the slightest bit concerned about what she has to do to get there. Ambition might be more brutal than hope in the end.

In the final sequence, Bach’s Overture in D Major resonates throughout Sean’s apartment, we see how intricate his methodology is, and it leads us to want more . . . much more from this series.

But, there is good news, Director Al Lougher and Writer James Williams are developing the feature film version of So Dark. Do yourself a favor and get an early peek into what is sure to be a much talked about film by watching So Pretty and So Dark tonight!

Both films contain graphic content and language and are not recommended for minor audiences!