WAR SHORT: The Sniper (2015)

          This week’s short is “The Sniper”, which was written and directed by Gerald Fowler.  It is only eight minutes long and cost around $300.  That’s a three with only two zeroes.  It actually looks like he spent twice that amount on it.  It opens with a title card that tells us:  “Two snipers who’ve become shells of their former selves, wander into the sinister recesses of their inner darkness”.  It is a good thing we are told this because there is no character development in the movie.  We are left to conjecture what caused them to be shells of their former selves.  They are involved in an unnamed civil war.  We have to assume they are cliched snipers who have PTSD from all the kills they have had to accomplish.  That’s where the cliché ends, because unlike every other dueling snipers movie, these guys are incompetent.  Since this is far from a comedy, I have to assume Fowler is just not an expert on sniping.  Or lacks common sense.  One of them goes outside in broad daylight after his foe has killed two others, wounded him, and is obviously in a high position with a clear view of the courtyard.  After surviving this, he exposes himself in a window, with no consequences.  His foe does not change position after the kills.   

                        Fowler must have intended for the sparse narrative to be thought-provoking.  What motivates the two snipers?  Why does one shoot a woman and a peace-keeper (so I assume)?  What is it about war that brings out inner demons?   He missed the mark if he wanted those deeper issues discussed.  Instead, I was left with questions like:  why is this woman standing in the open telling the peace-keeper there is a sniper in the area?  Why does the driver speed away without checking on the two victims?  Given the angle, how does the “good” sniper pull off that shot?  Why is he even still alive?  I would appreciate any answers to these questions. 

                        The movie is competently made.  Fowler uses a lot of hand-held and clearly knows his craft.  The lack of dialogue is a plus.  Less is more in a low budget film like this.  It’s hard to be too critical of a work that is clearly a sincere project and had little money to work with.  The problem lies with the unrealistic tactics of the two.  Also, in a crowded subgenre, it shows a distinct lack of originality to call your film “The Sniper”.  At the very least it should have been entitled “The Snipers”.  Or just call it “War is Hell”. 

GRADE  =  D

Watch it here:  The Sniper