GIRL AT THE DOOR (2013) – A Short Film by Colin Campbell [Grimmfest 2013 Review]

Girl At the Door (2013)
Directed by: Colin Campbell
Written by: Colin Campbell
Starring: Jeffrey Vincent Parise, Joe Hernandez-Kolski, Kimberly Atkinson, Kristen Renton, Ransford Doherty

GIRL AT THE DOOR (2013)
Written and directed by Colin Campell
Screened at Grimmfest 2013

The first scenes in Colin Campbell’s GIRL AT THE DOOR ooze sexuality, but the sex scene that follows appears to be a touch rough, even if Sofia showed a kinky side prior to intercourse by slapping Jake across the face in a sexually dominant way. When Sofia appears the second night, we are as much suprised as Jake is, but as soon as we see Sofia replaying the previous nights events, even tripping on the same step inside Jake’s apartment, we know something isn’t right. Whilst Jake is confused but up for round 2 of sex with the beautiful lady, it soon becomes a nightmare as Sofia keeps appearing at his apartment, night after night, uttering the same words and replaying the same actions. Stuck in a Groundhog Day style loop, Jake is going out of his mind but perhaps the reason for Sofia’s constant presence is more a problem with him than her…

Two great performances by the leads Jeffrey Vincent Parise and Kristen Renton as Jake and Sofia make this a very striking short that packs a punch. I do enjoy films that replay events over and over, like The Butterfly Effect, and this 12 minute film managed to do so without it getting aggravating like Groundhog Day does.

With the majority of the scenes playing out in Jake’s trendy apartment, besides from the initial nightclub opening scene, the atmosphere becomes rather claustrophobic as soon as Sofia pays her repeated visits. This works in the film’s favour rather well and intensifies the situation that Jake finds himself in.

Colin Campbell has crafted an engaging, stylish supernatural short thriller with GIRL AT THE DOOR that effectively tells its story and manages to convince with its supernatural aspects too. A clean shot, well-edited piece of cinema with a great story means I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for his future films and will be checking out his back catalogue of shorts too.