Shorts Reviews: 'LifeCycle' & 'Kill 'Em Now'
A Review Of Two Shorts From Two Young Filmmakers
INTRODUCTION
Last month, I got a heads-up from one of my “Film Twitter” mutuals, Roberto Ortiz, a passionate cinephile and an emerging film critic in his own right. Roberto reached out personally to ask if I’d be willing to watch and review two short films. One of them, LifeCycle, he both directed and starred in. The other, Kill 'Em Now, is a project he’s been championing, directed by Ryan J. Serrano.
Both shorts left a strong enough impression that I wanted to share my thoughts here. Full disclosure - I’ve “known” Roberto through social media for a few years now, and this request came directly from him. These reviews aren’t paid or sponsored in any way, just a favor for someone I respect in the film space and an opportunity to highlight work that’s worth checking out. You’ll find my quick thoughts on both shorts below.
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LIFECYCLE
- Plot, Via IMDB: Explores the haunting unraveling of Renato D'Auréli, a fictionalized auteur whose obsession with artistic perfection ultimately consumes his life and legacy.
- Quick Review: LifeCycle is a brief but evocative eight-minute short film, crafted in a style that immediately evokes the spirit of early 1910s cinema. Shot in black and white and entirely silent, it embraces the visual language of a bygone era with admirable sincerity. In just eight minutes, it manages to convey the rise and unraveling of a man so singularly focused on completing his film project that he lets the rest of his life pass him by, losing everything and everyone in the process.
There’s a lo-fi charm to the whole thing. The limitations of a small budget and the constraints of indie filmmaking are apparent, particularly in the production design and costuming, which don’t always align perfectly with the period aesthetic the film is going for. But that roughness never becomes a distraction; if anything, it adds to the sense that you’re watching something rediscovered from a bygone time, an obscure reel from the silent era that’s been unearthed and restored for modern eyes.
For all its brevity, LifeCycle left an impression. The themes it explores, artistic obsession, time slipping through one's fingers, and the personal cost of tunnel vision, are rich enough that I couldn’t help but wonder what this would look like expanded to feature length. There’s potential here for something even more haunting and layered. As it stands, though, this is a solid proof-of-concept short that pays homage to early cinema while telling a timeless, quietly tragic story.
KILL ‘EM NOW
- Plot, Via IMDB: A Bounty Hunter must help a culturally stagnated and hysterical group of Town Folk muster whatever they have to defeat a band of dangerous thugs to earn an undisclosed payday of a lifetime. But will a hidden sibling rivalry stand in the way of the reward and jeopardize everyone's lives?
- Quick Review: In contrast to the aforementioned LifeCycle, Kill ‘Em Now runs a full fifty minutes, damn near feature-length territory. And while, like LifeCycle, the budgetary limitations are apparent, the sheer ambition on display matters far more to me than the lack of polish. This film plays out like a love letter to the old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, infused with a dash of absurdist comedy and clever nods to genre tropes that fans will immediately recognize.
Tonally, it walks an interesting line, sometimes dramatic, other times comedic, but always aiming for something specific. I did find myself hung up a bit on the story arc involving the pastor and his wife; there’s something about their dynamic that feels underdeveloped or maybe just off-key emotionally. The villain, on the other hand, borders on cartoonish, but I get the sense that was intentional, a deliberate play into the theatricality and mythmaking often seen in classic western antagonists.
What really anchored the film for me was Joan James in the role of the nameless protagonist, “No Name.” He brings a strong presence to the screen; stoic, grounded, and carrying just enough mystique to make the archetype work. He’s got that kind of quiet gravitas that makes you buy into the character from the moment he enters a scene.
If you’re someone who has any affection for westerns, especially ones that aren’t afraid to color outside the lines a bit, Kill ‘Em Now is absolutely worth you giving time to. It's rough around the edges, sure, but there's heart, style, and a clear affection for the genre pulsing through every second.