Writer-director Santiago Menghini already has an impressive collection of short films under his belt; while his latest film, Regret, doesn’t quite reach the same heights as some of his earlier work, there are many elements to appreciate in this ambitious project.

Regret follows Wayne (Brent Skagford) who is away on a business trip that clashes with his father’s funeral date. While his sister and mother (Anana Rydvald and Ellen David) plead with him over the phone to attend, he adamantly says he cannot cancel. In fact, after getting off the phone with them he receives a call from his boss and tells him to not alter his schedule at all. Quite the devoted son, huh?

Stuck in his hotel room, Wayne chooses to remain emotionally detached. Although he briefly watches a home video from his childhood that features his father, he tries to bury the past. This decision, however, leads to devastating consequences. He soons finds himself facing off against physical manifestations of his inner demons.

Menghini and the crew should be commended for their approach to the subject of grief. In particular, the visuals heighten the sense of unease through the short film’s runtime. The interplay between light and shadow adds an air of film noir aesthetics to the horror atmosphere. In addition, camera placement suggests something sinister could be hiding at the edge of the frame, waiting to assault Wayne and the viewer. Shots of a stairwell and an eerily empty lobby are exemplar examples of this; only later does the audience realize that dead bodies have been hiding barely out of plain sight.

Although the visuals are quite impressive—including Wayne’s mysterious attacker (Mich Todorovic) who looks like a cross between Sam from Trick ’r Treat (2008) and the gimp from Pulp Fiction (1994)—the film rings slightly hollow due to creaky script mechanics. As a result, the film’s narrative occasionally feels stretched to fit its 16-minute runtime.

Despite inherent problems at the script level, Menghini’s Regret remains an impressive feat of visual storytelling.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Thanks to Mailchimp and SXSW, you can view the film HERE.

Regret
RATING: UR No Trailer Available
Runtime: 15 Mins. 48 Sec
Directed By:
Santiago Menghini
Written By:
Santiago Menghini

About the Author

Sean Woodard serves as the Film Editor for Drunk Monkeys and a Co-Producer of the faith and spirituality podcast, Ordinary Grace. Focusing on a wide variety of interests, Sean’s fiction, film criticism, and other writings have been featured in Los Angeles Review of Books, NonBinary Review, Horrorbuzz, Cultured Vultures, and Los Angeles Magazine, among other publications. He is currently a doctoral student at University of Texas at Arlington.