Portland Horror Film Festival Short Review: BLACKBIRD (2016)

Just when Rose thought she was safe from her nightmare, she woke up right back in it.

Rose, perfectly portrayed by Sophie Skelton, is afraid, but she’s free. A motorcycle rider, played by Tim Fellingham, who is also writer/producer/co-director (with Charlotte Stente Nielsen) wakes up from a crash, with (temporary?) memory loss, only to find Rose, fleeing, barefooted, for her life. As they seek cover in an out-of-the-way abandoned house in BFE, they muse over the irony of one trying to forget, while the other struggles to remember.

As the Rider searches his body for any possible injuries from his accident, he listens to a phone message from someone, a business partner (?), that he can’t recall, and as the message begins to trigger his memory, Rose see’s something that triggers a memory she’s trying to forget.

The creep factor in BLACKBIRD is real, and starts in the very first frames, and the soundtrack is equally creepy, and matches the tone perfectly. The drone footage of the motorcycle ride is clear, well done, and adds to the storyline; it’s not at all distracting or used because “Ooh, let’s use drones.”

All in all, BLACKBIRD is 14 perfect minutes of creepy, enjoy!