Cheers to Death (2013) User Reviews

Dance of the Dead

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 9/10 · 30 October 2014]

I really didn't think I was going to enjoy this short at first as I'm not a fan of the whole flamboyant cabaret thing, and for a moment that was the impression I got as it opened with the image of a beautiful woman garbed in bright frilly Spanish attire singing in an almost ethereal fashion to a ballroom full of somehow strange dancers in what appeared to be a period setting. But much like the people in this short I guess, well I'll be damned as it turned out to be something that I found pretty amazing and profound. It's very simple and is over practically in a second, but I thought it had a subtle strong impact to it by the end. Like I said it begins with a senorita who is serenading the revellers of a dusty ballroom which is suddenly invaded by a trio of gun-wielding bandits, and the moment is strange and tense as they all stop and stare at them, and then as they lower as their weapons everybody present seems to come to some kind of startling realisation, and then things take a weird and enchantingly eerie turn as all of their faces change to ghostly skeleton face-paint, and then there's a kind of solemn peace between them as they all begin to waltz in a hauntingly-beautiful celebration of death... It may sound grim and morbid, but it really didn't come off as creepy. Dark, certainly, But I actually found it soothing in a poignant kind of way. The dance choreography and the visuals of the voodoo Mardi-gras makeup designs were excellently done and it brought about a tone and atmosphere that was almost mesmerising. And then everything's made clear when a janitor enters and they all stare coldly at him, and as it shows things from his point of view, it's revealed that all he can see is an empty room, and although thanks to the plot on here which very aptly sums-up the mood I saw it coming, I did find it to be a great twist to a very skillfully-constructed short. The only thing I did wonder about was if they all did that every night, forever repeating the original moment when they died over and over... Terrific job Nicolas Humphries, you made a real little work of macabre magic! Ole!!!