An 11 minute short by Evelyn S. Oliver, Therapeutic is all about a woman (played by Misty Easler) visiting couples who need therapy. No surprise there.
The frustrating thing about reviewing any short film is that, even more so than usual, you never want to give out any detail or reveal any clue to any major plot development. Short films can be, and often are, just as entertaining and worthy of attention as features but they often contain some middle-act twist or punchline that adds to the enjoyment.
Therapeutic has a little twist that it reveals near the beginning and, although it is hard to imagine things being shuffled around and restructured, this is a bit of a stumbling block because the journey is over almost before it has begun. Sadly, it sags a little in the middle which is never a good thing for a short film.
The acting is nothing great but we’re also not veering in to Ed Wood territory so it’s very bearable. The script hasn’t got all that much to it, with some repetition that you feel could have been replaced by either more humour or more horror.
There’s just nothing spectacular here, nothing in the direction to wow viewers and/or act as a calling card , BUT the central concept is one that’s got enough inherent macabre humour to make the whole thing worth just over ten minutes of your time.
I do, however, thank the director for giving us a sneak peek at the film (which has its first public screening on Friday 12/11/10) and wish her all the best with future endeavours I may come across.
DIRECTOR: EVELYN S. OLIVER
STARS: MISTY EASLER, ERIKA MYERS, KALEBER SOZE
RUNTIME: 11 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: USA
Film Rating: 
