A young couple looking for respite finds lodging in an older, slightly macabre, location. However, their romantic tryst is soon cut short when the woman begins to hear odd singing, and is soon visited by a vengeful spirit. With the couple in a similar predicament that caused the vengeful spirit's death, the past is slowly revealed as a reflection of the couples own struggles.
“Britto” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Approaching the issue of the, sometimes, deadly outcome of falling in love outside of assigned marriage, “Britto” offers an ideal gothic cautionary tale. Off the back of a strong narrative, “Britto” delivers a vibrant visual and audio experience, which creates suspense while offering a platform to discuss an underadressed social concern.
Visually, the film works best within the scenes that portray the haunting, as the dimmed lights and framing is wonderfully executed to capture detail and create a dark ambiance. While the remainder of the film still commands the same attention to detail in framing and blocking, the presentation does fall a bit short outside of the suspenseful moments. Notably, the color saturation gives an unappealing hue for the genre, feeling more akin to romance or drama than horror.
Another detriment, which will only effect English speaking audiences, is the small subtitles that become hard to read at certain points. The opening sequence, that offers some gorgeous animation to set the backdrop, buries the subtitles as white background eclipses the white subs with a fine border, making it unreadable. However, this is an easy fix and does not speak to the overall quality.
The performances in the short are serviceable, with perhaps the exception coming from the closing dialogue which frames both madness and frustration in a wonderfully unnerving manner. The appearance of this character, within the closing moments, adds needed shock value to help elevate Priyam Chanda‘s social message.
“Britto” is a well constructed horror short with an admirable underlying message, bolstered by an atmosphere which speaks to the best of gothic horror from past era's. While the production does little to stand out as a unique experience, it is a well crafted title that offers a complete narrative and great visuals within its brief runtime.
