Julien Neaves, Caribbean Head Writer
Plot: A young man is receiving therapy for his strange, recurring visions. But is it all in his head or is he actually experiencing another world?
Review: Written and co-directed by Ria Charles, Trapped is the latest short film from Trinidad and Tobago production house GT Caribbean Network and it is one of their most unique offerings to date. It begins with a young man (Stephen Prince) experiencing the latest of his recurring visions involving a mysterious young woman with brightly coloured hair (Ella Romain). His frequent “spacing out” places a strain on his relationship with his sister (Sarah Prince) and sessions with a therapist (played by co-director and GT co-founder Ancil Harris) don’t seem to be helping. But nothing is as it seems.
To get any further into the plot would be getting into spoiler territory, so I will leave it at that. But I will say that this short film has more twists than a French Braid. I was like, “Okay, you have my attention.” I still have no idea whether what is happening is psychological, supernatural or science fiction-based, and when you consume as much content as I do it is refreshing to not know exactly what is happening.
The story raises several questions, few of which are answered by the time the credits roll. This may be frustrating to viewers (I did feel a bit unsatisfied in the end myself) but if the intention was to whet the appetite for more Trapped, then mission accomplished. The short was originally planned as part of a series, so there is hope there would eventually be a return to this twisty world. And I do hope so, because I need ANSWERS!
With that said, Trapped features solid performances especially from Harris (appearing in front of the camera for a change outside of a quick cameo) and quite the intriguing story. And with a runtime of just over 11 minutes you really can’t go wrong here.
Editor Jules’ Score: 7 out of 10
You can check out the film for yourself by clicking here. And you can check more Trinidadian short film content below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “12 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.