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Under 12 minutes, ‘Defile’ unfolds in a way that makes one feel like they’re watching the climax of a full feature length film.
Written and directed by Brian Sepanzyk, ‘Defile’ follows a couple whose quiet stay at a remote holiday cabin is disrupted by a family of three with sinister intentions. What begins as a peaceful getaway quickly spirals into a night of blood-soaked terror for the young pair.
The special effects aren’t bad at all, and there’s a generous amount of blood and gore to satisfy genre fans. But despite the carnage, ‘Defile’ isn’t particularly scary. The violence feels random rather than tension-building, and since the characters aren’t given enough space to breathe, it’s hard to form any emotional connection with them. As a result, you don’t really care about what happens, and the film never manages to build any meaningful suspense.
While the setting for the horror film is great, albeit very clichéd (you really can’t get more clichéd than a remote cabin, can you?), the actors don’t add much value to the atmospheric tale. Sara Canning and Adam Lolacher, who play the suspicious older couple, are a little too over-the-top in their delivery. Tanaya Beatty, however, is far more convincing as the primary victim of the strange family’s sabotage.
Saying much more would feel like giving too much away, especially since the plot is intentionally cryptic and leaves a lot to the viewer’s imagination. Plenty of short films manage to deliver solid scares in under ten minutes, but ‘Defile’ instead leaves its audience slightly confused about what’s unfolding.
Is the family part of a cult? Are they cursed? What even happens to them? Too many questions remain unanswered, and the film’s attempt at a “clever” open-ended twist only adds to the confusion rather than elevating the narrative.
Watch ‘Defile’ on YouTube.
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