STOP

A film who you feel. Its dramatic uances, the force of silent moments, the frame of situation, the tension, the great last scene. A film about power, color of skin, doubts, secrets and words becoming more than circles of sounds or affirmations. A film about three people on the road, in the car, a cop and a dialogue as collection of shadows. Precise and seductive . Scene by scene. A film as perfect embrodery of nuances, emotions and large tension.

On YouTube, which is where I saw this rather excellent and appropriately tense and (by the end, realistically) mortifying short film, the description is there next to the title: "2 balck men get pulled over by a cop on a power trip." This is a curious thing because for one there is also a white woman in the passenger side (or she's probably mixed race, I don't want to assume or pretend to tell), and, let's cut the crap, it's hard to find a cop thay isn't on a power trip.

It's practically a redundancy at this point.

The quality here is tight and solid as a rock. This is ten minutes and barely any feels wasted. Though it may be a little much to throw in the mention of a gun late in the proceedings, and it might have been interesting to see more of the other cop who is just lurking in the background, it doesn't take away from how every line and the choices in delivering every line and moment to moment behavior is just about what this needs to be. Power corrupts absolutely, as does implicit - or just outright - racism and prejudice. This could almost be a PSA except that would be too obvious. Stop is just... what it is. And it's sick.

Interesting to note that DeGennaro and Scott Weinberg are usually in horror writing and filmmaking - both cohost a fun podcast called Science vs Fiction and Weinberg has been primarily writing horror film criticism for a while - since this is itself, on the nose or not, modern political horror its is basic form (political in the literal sense - what does it mean to interact and be "polite" in that sense of the word). But it's cast so that all four main players get to show what they can do and once it gets to that final shot your heart appropriately (if one has a conscience) drops to the floor. Very good work.