Why Watch? There’s little room for joy in Quinn da Matta’s experimental short about trying to impress your father beyond the point of reason. That can usually be a stumbling block; not showing what happiness life brings can dehumanize a story, but in this case the stark imagery and alienating animation blends in to create something calmly nightmarish. The music choices are a bit cloying, but there are few problems overall beyond that.
Unlike the bulk of uninspired student shorts that wordlessly explore imagery where nothing much happens, Ever Dark has a bit of weight and a few tricks up its sleeve to keep the momentum going forward (even at its most existential). Designed not only for the journey, the last few minutes are visual cinder block to the chest.
What will it cost you? Only 15 minutes.