Horst in Translation ([email protected]) The American English-language "Jack Attack" is an 8.5-minute live action short film from 2013, so this one will have its 5th anniversary next year, even if the version I watched looked older somehow. As short as it may be, it still took two writers coming up with this one here, namely Norton and Padovan and I think this is not their only collaboration. Horror seems to be their thing especially. Anyway, this one deals with the concept of pumpkin carving around Halloween and eventually turns into human carving as the pumpkin is not really in the mood to be carved. Admittedly, the last third of the film was fairly solid, but the build-up was relatively weak I must say and I just cannot ignore that, even if the last 2-3 minutes pre-credits managed to entertain me. The transition from harmlessness and innocence to horror and gore was also a bit weak. It's a shame as the attention to detail is there at times, for example with the mini pumpkins in the blood and intestines near the end. Overall though, this was not a good enough watch for me to recommend checking it out. So I give it a thumbs-down as a whole. Don't watch.

Foreverisacastironmess They say that pumpkins keep the devil away on Halloween Night, well not so much this one, it has a little something extra special brewing inside it... I saw this short in an anthology movie called All Hallows Eve 2 and definitely thought it was the best segment in it. It was basically very well made, it had a sharp clear movie quality picture I thought. The story is small but it has a very nice Autumnal Halloween atmosphere about it. It's about a babysitter who's mad at her boyfriend for not showing up to join her on that night, and who decides to teach the young kid she's looking after how to carve and hollow out a pumpkin, a process which looks a lot less fun and surprisingly grosser than I for one would have thought. She cooks the pumpkin's seeds in the oven and soon after the boy appears to choke on some of them and she has to quickly perform an emergency tracheotomy which was a very convincing effect, very wince-inducing and gruesome. While she's doing that the child's body begins to bloat up and erupt with lashing leafy blood-covered tendrils, and then the same thing begins to happen to her and then even to the poor little yapping dog!! It's quite a horrific and bizarre spectacle, but not so horrible that it's downright disturbing, the short has a bit of a dark quirkiness to its tone. The boyfriend finally arrives for his date as you see the interior of the house being covered by the sinister sprouting vines and won't he be in for a surprise, and it focuses on the glowing pumpkin which almost seems to be grinning in victory... Like with the gore I love the special effect done with the tendrils, they briefly use a bit of stop-motion animation, and I always like seeing a bit of that cool technique used these days. So there's really not all that much to this and it's over before you know it, but it's a slickly made and very enjoyable little short that worth seeking out and is particularly fun and festive to watch at this chilly and spooky time of the year.

Greg When I was offered the opportunity to review Jack Attack, I met the opportunity with the enthusiasm as I would a trip to the dentist. I had been neglecting my responsibility to screen and potentially review titles that have been sent to me with the zeal and zest of filmmakers around the world. And now my pile of disregard had stacked to behind the level of my knees as they lay upon the basement floor. So it was more of obligation than it was exhilaration that gave Jack Attack my attention.And then, in the span of the un-encroaching few minutes it took to screen the short, I was re-invigorated with the realization that there are great filmmakers out there churning out above average entertainment that is every bit as good, or better, than mass marketed event films that crowd out multiplexes.Jack Attack tells what you would expect to be a simple story of young Jack (Tyler Rossell) and babysitter Elizabeth (Helen Rogers) who on Halloween night set out to carve their holiday pumpkin. Elizabeth uses the occasion to teach Jack the art of the carve but when Jack seemingly chokes on the recently toasted pumpkin seeds, Jack Attack takes a path you won't see coming. A path that leads to some great horrific moments of creative gore.Written and directed by Antonio Padovan and Bryan Norton Jack Attack will undoubtedly become one of those really great horror short films that exponentially grows in recognition through audience appreciation and word of mouth. Beautifully filmed, Jack Attack uses the October setting to perfection and everything from the lighting to the practical and special effects set the bar for which other shorts can be judged.It's been far too long since I last gushed over a particular project that I had not followed through magazine trades or internet chatter. And Jack Attack proves that there is still quality being crafted in short film formats that are worthy of our championing.www.killerreivews.com