A young woman discovers a girl locked in her father’s panic room — his personal vault. But as three masked intruders break into the home to retrieve the girl, things take an unexpected turn for the worse.

After throwing a Mardi Gras party, you expect to clean the mess your guests made. You might find some mysterious things left in the bathroom, but you never expect to find a girl locked in a vault inside your home. It makes you wonder what the spiked punch had in it.

In Ricochet (2019), Ana (Gianna-Marie) wakes up from what seems to be a kickass party. Soon as she gets up from the couch, she hears noises coming from a locked vault. As she opens it, she finds a young girl (Corrie Fleming), hands zipped and tape on her mouth and, immediately, three strangers wearing masks and uniforms from “The Institute” show up with guns, ready to exterminate whatever the infestation is.

There’s something Resident Evil-ish in Ricochet; it could be the plot or the fact that it packs everything you want to see in an action film: violence, gore, comedy, science fiction. As soon as the first minute of the runtime hits, the short promises a lot of interesting things to happen. The music is excellent and it helps very much with the opening sequence as it shows a simple aesthetic with great illumination to help you distinguish details that tell a quick background story.

The story is simple: a woman rescues a girl locked in a vault while they run away from three masked hit-men. But even with a simple story, we get an up-and-down cast; some characters can be overshadowed by others. In the end, all is forgivable with the expected twist during the last couple of minutes. It was expected since there are a lot of hints that give it away, especially with the props.

Ricochet is a fun and entertaining action film. It’s a shame to have such a nice product with a short runtime but it may be for the best to keep its excellence intact. Also, it’s making me reconsider my Halloween costume; those Institute uniforms and masks look amazing.

RICOCHET
RATING: NR
Ricochet (Official Trailer) | Action/Thriller/Horror/Sci-Fi short film | Directed by Tim Earnheart
Runtime: 11 Mins.
Directed By:
Written By:

About the Author

Brandon Henry was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico, just south of the border of San Diego. His birthplace is the main reason nothing really scares him (kidding… it’s a very safe place). His love for horror films came when his parents accidentally took him to watch Scream, at the age of 6, thinking that it was a safe-choice because it starred “that girl from Friends”. At 12, he experienced the first of many paranormal events in his life. While he waits to be possessed by the spirit of a satanic mechanic, he works as a Safety Engineer and enjoys going to the theater, watching movies and falling asleep while reading a book. Follow him on Instagram @brndnhnry and on Twitter @brandon_henry.