Cheryl, written, directed, produced, and edited by Brian Feeney, is about a distressed young woman named Jenny (Paige Simmons) who is returned to her mother, Cheryl (Angela Landis), and grandmother (Cissy Wellman). This sets off a dangerous and tragic series of events.

The acting dances between performances that are good and others that are simply ok. Cissy Wellman provides my favorite performance. I find older people to be somewhat of a secret weapon in horror. This is not because they’re scary, but because they tend to have the ability to add a lot of gravity to a scene. Such is the case in Cheryl. The grandmother also has the advantage of being the centerpiece of the most interesting visuals. While the entire story takes place in a common looking home, the grandmother is shot to appear otherworldly against an all-white room that differs from the rest of the house. The music is good, but it gets a bit too loud during the climax and becomes rather distracting.

The biggest issue is its pacing. It only has three minutes to make an impression and must spend that time wisely. Between the exposition in the front end and the climax in the back end, it doesn’t give itself enough time to build suspense. Without that suspense, the climax fails to have an impact. The way it chooses to spend its time is more beneficial towards a drama or black comedy than horror.

Cheryl fails to leave an impression. It doesn’t have any other major flaws, but it also doesn’t have many major victories. It needed more time to cook, but because it is only three minutes long it may be worth trying anyway.