The Game of the Clock is a short horror film by writer/director Michele Olivieri starring actress Simon Mumford. The short follows the tale of a young teenage girl checking in on a friend in what we can presume is the middle of the night. Upon entering the apartment, she is greeted by a ringing alarm clock and a number of creepy, childish drawings inviting her to play a game—the kind where there are seldom victors.
Technically, the film is rather well done. There were some shaky-cam moments that I could have done without but—for the most part—it is well shot and edited. The sound design beats out the other technical aspects, being surprisingly clean and chillingly creepy at the same time. Being Olivieri’s second film only and his first stepping into the horror genre, The Game of the Clock is most definitely a decent offering to the old ones.
As far as the characters go, Mumford seemed comfortable in her role as The Victim, though she definitely needs to work on that scream if she plans on joining the ranks of all those resplendent scream queens that have come before. Our creature—whatever it is—gets very little screen time sans a few shaky tables and a couple of limbs here and there. I was expecting a little more in the way of said creature but I understand that what we got was most likely due to budget constraints, the film sporting a single actress in a single location and all.
The Game of the Clock is pretty standard fare when it comes to short horror films. I can see how it would have performed well at certain festivals and rubbed folks the right way. It tries to check off the boxes that make for a standout film but—in doing so—it does very little to stand out. The rules as clues around the apartment are a nice touch and the leaving of the creature to the imagination works well in this case, but I would have liked to have had my jimmies a little more rustled; my hairs a little more at attention in anticipation.
Overall, I would say that it was an enjoyable film. Olivieri shows a lot of promise and will hopefully continue to create creepier and crazier contributions for the world of indie horror. Thanks for reading and as always, stay sordid. You can watch the short film at the link below.
