I love this short, it's so gripping to me that the seventeen minute run time really zips by. It's very atmospheric and very British, and has a nice slow buildup of tension that starts at the beginning as it shows the girl's lighted face as she drives alone on the road at night, and then when she encounters the aggressive punks, and of course when she finally encounters what appears to be a harmless old woman who she picks up out of the kindness of her heart. What the brief story builds up to isn't spectacular or anything but I'm quite satisfied, I like the subtlety of that ending, and how exactly just what happens isn't said out loud to the viewer. It's foreboding how the car just sits there as the lights change and the old woman gets out and hobbles away into the rain. I thought it was very moody and effective. And despite the pretty terrible quality of the print that's on Youtube, not that I'm complaining, the atmosphere still comes through really well. A very unsettling little performance from Avis Bunnage as a murderous old lady, especially when she balefully glares over at the nervous Judy Neesam. There's something so threatening about her eyes, it gave me a real chill, you could imagine what being in that kind of situation would feel like. when dealing with strangers you just never know what you could be in for. I love the colour scheme, it's very bold and gives things a distinctive eerie tone, there's lots of spooky blue and yellow hues, almost comic book-like to me.. I like it a lot, it's very old fashioned and kind of plain I guess, but it's still a very effective short that is genuinely unsettling, and it's well worth watching. It should really be included on a horror collection or something, it deserves to be seen, because it's a real creeper... So long folks, watch who you pick up!
Review of Panic
