‘Ultimate Fails Compilation’ beautifully captures the essence of boyhood, but in the age of social media. The exploration of the thematic concerns is meticulous and thorough, along with a constant conversation about likes and the internet interweaved with dialogue. The interpersonal equations with peers, group dynamics and the power-play that operates within them, as well as banter that has more practical concerns underlining them, whether or not the boys consciously realize it, all form the film's backbone.

As four boys make videos about the eponymous internet trend, our first instinct is to assume a lighthearted story about the lives of twelve-year-olds. However, before we can fully accept it to ourselves, the suggestion of a far darker reality begins to make its presence felt. 

The narrative adroitly employs only a brief glimpse into the lives of the characters to bring all of this to life, engrossing the viewer throughout. 
Calmness replaces frills, gravity replaces flippancy, resulting in an outcome that is deliberately understated, but unmissable in its lucidity and impact.

Ultimate Fails Compilation | Short Film of the Day

Equipped with snacks, a ring light, and emotional undercurrents impossible to shake off, four girls record a video. However, there is a far more sinister entity uncurling its limbs behind the scenes of this inane activity. 

 The film establishes a component of violence and thrill alongside the aforementioned reality. An interaction with all of these elements also allows a glimpse at a society where the preoccupation with internet fame is rampant, and where many young people see its achievement as an end to the mundaneness of their own life. In a bid to go viral, and therefore get a chance to leave their dull school life behind, the young women record their video, completely unaware of the threat of violence that looms right above their heads. 

The movement from the establishment of the premise to the conflict, crisis, and climax arrives swiftly, without wasting any beats. The screenplay and performances facilitate this progression. The entirety of the plot unfolds within a limited physical space, keeping itself deliberately and efficiently lean. The short in its current form can serve as an ideal concept for a feature, building on the shock value it conjures at its conclusion, once again, pronouncing the contemporary world’s obsession with virtual fame, and the extent to which young people are willing to go for it.

Viral  | Short Film of the Month

Contemporary times have unfortunately made us all-too-familiar with the possibility of a live-stream gone wrong. From practical jokes being played on the unwitting host to accidents that have proved fatal in some cases, the internet has revealed to us a world that ranges from hilarious to horrifying. The short film strikes a chord with the same reality and brings forth the story of a woman during a live stream. The first minute of the narrative sets the tone of what is to come - a film where jump scares would come to play an important role in conjuring and sustaining an atmosphere of eeriness, and also bring in a suggestion of a supernatural presence. The unsuspecting protagonist unknowingly ends up on a dark path and finds herself in the centre of a deeply perilous situation. The film exhibits notable thought in portraying this situation while efficiently employing limited resources; the entirety of Black Orchid Challenge unfolds within the same physical space, using a fixed frame, and still manages to leave the viewer sufficiently perturbed. However, once the stream has begun and strange events have come to be, what unexpected, dangerous turn the protagonist would unearth next?

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