Review by Jay Kay
AND THEY WATCHED (2015) is Written and Directed by Vivian Lin.
We move through this world observing amazing and terrible things. We see sights that make us wonder, make us cope as well as struggle with the notion of good and evil. In the short film AND THEY WATCHED by Vivian Lin; we find that even in the service of those in pain, we learn that our ignorance can come back to haunt us. Inspired by the reinstatement of the electric chair in the state of Tennessee and an incredible part of the 2016 ETHERIA FILM NIGHT selections; we follow a janitor played by John Cianciolo completing his duties in a dark and dreadful hallway leading down to an execution chamber. This section of a prison is a grizzly reminder of the finality with this weapon of death just beyond the glass. As the janitor cleans the window, straightens up the rooms and takes meticulous care to clean the electric chair after the latest execution, through incredible use of light, tense score and eerie visual effects, we understand that something did not fully leave the chamber or this earth. With a production design mirroring the most effective and insidious ideas guiding the frights of a haunted house, we learn that a spirit has returned to re-create the injustice and terror with the one person who happens to be there not for any other reason than he was paid and he watched. Continue reading →
