I enjoy being home alone. I enjoy the solitude, being able to talk to myself, these are all enjoyable by yourself home activities. For Colette (Becca Buckalew), she enjoys watching the news while scrubbing the floor. Unfortunately for Colette, tonight is not the night to be home alone. After watching the news announce a missing person and drug-related crimes abound in her neighborhood, she starts to hear noises – the paranoia and fear kicks in. She immediately calls her boyfriend Cole (Matt McAbee), who is driving and calmly tells him she thinks someone is trying to get in the house. After telling her to “calm down” (something every woman loves to hear when she’s calm), he says he’ll be home soon. The noises don’t stop, and the fear heightens. 

Cole & Colette has its audience believe one thing, then turns it completely around and gives them another. The power of having a twist like this in such a short film is awe-inspiring. Nothing provides this reviewer with the happy slappys like a good old fashion twist ending. The story is substantial; there is no doubt about that. Simple isn’t “boring,” simple sometimes can be just enough. I find oversaturated backstories and explanations can be overwrought. Cole & Colette gives us a story, anticipation, and the need to know what happens next – not the obligation to understand WHY. It’s a plot-driven suspense without the need for a complicated backstory.

However, I have to be true to myself when watching this film (and it pains me to say this) the performances were – just OKAY. Not the worst I have ever seen, but it needed a bit more passion. Belief in what you’re saying and doing feel the fear, feel the concern, feel the shock, feel the surprise, and, most importantly – feel the PAIN. That helps us, as an audience, to understand what is happening inside the character’s head without them having to say every thought out loud.

All in all, Cole & Colette is a worthy watch. It’s short, to the point, and has an incredibly memorable ending line (perhaps inspired by Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws.) I would certainly recommend this to any thriller/suspense fan. I give it 6 out of 10 creaky floorboards for suspense, paranoia, and reminding me always to check the door locks next time I’m home alone dancing naked.