Deathpod This short had me howling at the accuracies of my chat room addiction days of the late 90's. I really wish I could find a copy of this somewhere, so very well thought out and executed. I believe this won the Sundance "Best Short" award, or something to that effect, for 2001.

motor89 I've just caught this short film on the SciFi channel in the UK. Very important: Don't read reviews of it (including this one beyond the first paragraph), they will undoubtedly give the game away and spoil the fun realisation at the end. Spoiler warning.This film is simply magnificent, if you have ever spent any time in a chat room it will have you smiling at the end. The real genius is in convincing you that it is some kind of group therapy session, and then maybe a role-playing therapy session. You simply cannot understand why one guy calls himself Beth and why a 50 year-old guy is sitting next to a 15 year old talking dirty - and why does the guy get thrown out by the police for swearing? And then at the end it all becomes clear... and you desperately want to see it again to pick up all the things you missed.Simply brilliant. Don't spoil it for others by giving the game away though.

LostRomantic23 I found this on a friend's profile on Instant Messenger, and at first had no idea what it was. Up until the last two minutes or so, I was very confused, but I'm glad I kept watching until the end ... upon finishing the clip, I came to IMDb to see exactly what it was: a short film, an excerpt from something, etc. I would love to see this more of this man's work; I'd REALLY like to see this piece go to Cannes or Sundance if it hasn't already -- I can see it winning an award. Definitely check it out.

tlowell-2 Anyone who has ever wasted time in a chat room needs to see this short film. It cleverly, accurately, and chillingly depicts the world behind the computer screen. THE PARLOR will evoke nervous laughter as you recognize yourself in one of the many archetypal chat room denizens: psycho flamer; boy band freak; on-the-make middle-aged married guy; bored, sex-obsessed teen; closeted homosexual; and more.From his filmography, Geoffrey Haley appears to be a protege of Alan Ball, creator of HBO's Six Feet Under. It would interesting to see if he gets any writing or directing gigs on that show.