Drawing upon various influences from fantasy and horror, ranging from Stephen King’s work to the movies of Steven Spielberg, Chris Columbus, and Tibor Takács (known for the cult 80s flick The Gate), Eric Baktanian’s atmospheric short, ‘Be Nice’, is wickedly entertaining.
It’s widely accepted that some children and adults struggle to be ‘nice’ when interacting with others. Some are bullies who enjoy the power they wield, others enjoy causing upset with sharp words and damaging statements, and a few are greedy and unwilling to think of anyone but themselves. These people have surrounded us since our earliest years on Earth, and we often find ourselves thinking or asking, “Why can’t you just be nice?” Sometimes, when an answer is impossible to find, we fight fire with fire, turning from a victim into the very thing we have been fighting against; we become a monster to fight a monster. Or, in the case of young Marcus (Jeremiah Acevedo), you summon a monster from the depths of your imagination to do your dirty work for you, even if that means you create a prison where everyone has to be nice or suffer the consequences.
Marcus has had enough of his cousin Billy (Cooper Alexander); in fact, he has had just about enough of his whole family, and Billy sleeping over in his room is the final straw. He warned Billy to be nice, but Billy clearly wasn’t listening, and now he must suffer the consequences, just like every other family member, including his Uncle Luke.
Mixing comedy, fantasy, and horror into a tight seven-minute runtime, writer, producer, and director Eric Baktanian’s fabulous short is both fresh and nostalgic, as it captures a moment all of us have faced in our youth: the wish that our family would either change or disappear. For Marcus, that wish is based on being nice to each other for once, but like young Kevin in Home Alone, it’s a wish that could ultimately see his family disappear, this time forever! Drawing upon various influences from fantasy and horror, ranging from Stephen King’s work to the movies of Steven Spielberg, Chris Columbus, and Tibor Takács (known for the cult 80s flick The Gate), Baktanian’s atmospheric short is wickedly entertaining.
It’s not often that a short is too short, but Be Nice falls into that category; that’s in no way a criticism, as short form filmmaking comes with a range of challenges, including budgets and time, but Baktanian’s brief story could have been further enhanced with additional minutes in developing Marcus and Billy’s backstory. However, with a score that pays homage to Dave Grusin’s The Goonies, Richard Bellis’ IT (1990) and Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein’s Stranger Things, alongside cinematography from Caitlin Brown that uses colour, perspective, practical effects and atmospheric lighting to create mood, Be Nice is a fantastic slice of short-form fantasy/horror filmmaking. More, please, Mr Baktanian.
Eric Baktanian’s Be Nice had its world premiere screening at Dances With Films and is awaiting a UK release date.
Follow Us