The Winter People (2003)

In a tiny summer community on Cape Cod the houses sit boarded up and vacant for eight months of the year. Or do they?

Director:

John Stimpson

Writer:

John Stimpson

Stars:

Rachel Harker, MacKenzie Nimmo, Ken Cheeseman

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
Rachel Harker	...	Anne
MacKenzie Nimmo	...	Sarah
Ken Cheeseman	...	Martin
Frank T. Wells	...	Mr. Geary

Storyline

In the fall, Sarah, a lass of 11 or 12, and her mother arrive at their Cape Cod summer house to meet the plumber and get the place ready for winter. Sarah asks her mother about the winter people, those who live in the house while the family's gone. Her mother dismisses the idea, and when Sarah finds a tube of unfamiliar lipstick, her mother declares that it probably belongs to Sarah's father's girlfriend -- Sarah's parents have recently separated. Sarah asks the plumber too about the winter people, And, on their way out of town, she asks Mr. Geary, the general store owner. In a world where divorce and other sad things happen, can there be winter people?

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Short | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

General information, reviews and updates

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 2003 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Moody Street Pictures

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included in the Film Festival Collection DVD: Shorts!, Vol. 2.

User Reviews

Like an entire movie crammed into a film short

This was included on the disk "Shorts: Volume 2"--a rather dull collection of short films. Shorts are among my favorite style of films but somehow the people assembling this second collection had a hard time finding quality content--and it wasn't nearly as good as the first volume or other shorts collections. This particular short film probably the best overall in the set.

A young girl and her mother travel to their vacation home. However, it's not to relax but to prep the house for a long winter and perhaps as a prelude to being sold. It seems the parents are divorcing and there's a strong feeling of melancholy about the film.

The little girl has the odd idea that when the house is locked up for the winter that "people" (perhaps ghosts) come to live in the home. Surprisingly, there are a few clues around the house that MIGHT support this, though Mom tells her to forget about such nonsense.

Where the story goes next, I'd rather not say--it would spoil the film. However it is a rather interesting way to take the story and my daughter and I enjoyed this film a lot--something we just can't say about the rest of these shorts. The reason we liked it so much was how well written and professional the whole thing was--and it made us want to see more.