The actor playing the DJ did a great job. The tension builds up, well as much as it can in a 30 minute movie, and the scares weren't the cheap "jump" variety. Everything was good but that ending is where it falls apart. I didn't get it whatsoever. I was waiting for that "aha" moment when it would all come together but that moment never arrived.
5 Reviews
A very good effort.
durham10031 January 2021
Plainly a demo movie, or a self financed project but I loved the premise, the acting was extremely good and the atmosphere well maintained and pulled it off despite the obvious limited resources. I enjoyed it, which after all, is the whole point isn't it? The writer/director knows how to build and hold suspense and intrigue and this could easily have been a twighlight zone episode. The ending depends on whether you get the clues i get, which aren't that hard to spot... its a revenge story and when you think about it, it's pretty clever. I liked it. It isn't perfect but if this a kind of show case production, it is a very good one. Well done.
Texas Radio, the Big Beat
jakeh31 January 2021
'..so a guy walks into a bar and...' no wait '..a guy works at a radio station.' There, much better (at least he brought his own bottle of whiskey). Not a bad half hour short about a DJ (Lance Allen Kramer, famous for 'The Great Food Truck Race') who appears to open the pit of hell and falls into it. Not too scary but I did like the actor who played the DJ who gave it some credibility. Throwing in an old bluegrass song by Earl Johnson, and you've got a wicked story about 'U2' no, wait, I mean a 'song' on a 'U14' cassette (remember those, still have a few, well, more than a few. A good way to waste 26+ minutes I guess. Ending implies...
U14 (2020)
The_Weirdling3 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The DJ for a radioshow gets a series of different folks calling in and asking for the same song to be played - U14. Initially dismissive, he eventually hunts down the old tape labeled "U14" and plays it for the fans requesting it. He probably shouldn't have. What ensues is his long road trip to crazy-town.
This is a fun little tale, well directed and well acted. It's scary and has a great concept behind it. The only flaw is the ending, imho. It seems like they weren't quite sure how to bring it home in the end. That said, I certainly could not have done any better.
This is a fun little tale, well directed and well acted. It's scary and has a great concept behind it. The only flaw is the ending, imho. It seems like they weren't quite sure how to bring it home in the end. That said, I certainly could not have done any better.
It's all symbolic.
rpsgtjustin29 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILER ALERT!
I might be wrong, but in my interpretation everything in this short film is symbolic, and it takes place mostly, or completely, inside the main character's own head. I really liked this film, and when taken at face value, it's captivating and confusing little horror romp with good acting and very nice production value, but when you really watch closely and dig in deeper, it becomes a much more potent and horrifying tale of guilt and self loathing.
First of all, it's possible that the DJ isn't a DJ at all, or maybe he is, but either way, he used to be a plant worker who took to drinking when his job closed. I think this was hinted at by the first caller complaining about his plant closing, and the DJ's response that he's "been down that road many times" himself.
One night, it's unclear how long ago, the man, drunkenly ran over someone on a bike while driving home from the bar. He's now on a drinking binge (shown by the whiskey bottle's content level getting lower every time it's shown), trying to forget what he's done, but his conscience keeps "calling in" and requesting the dreaded song that will remind him of his misdeed. It's either the song that was playing on the bar's jukebox that night when he left to go home, or it was playing on his truck's radio when the accident occurred (or both).
"U14" might be the number for the song on the bar's jukebox, the route number of the road where he ran over the cyclist, or perhaps the victim's initial and age. The corpse-like monster represents his victim, and also serves as an incarnation of his guilt, and may also symbolize his fear of punishment for his crime, as well.
At the end, when the man goes outside for a cigarette, he's sobering up and coming out of hiding. He's confronted by himself , since he's also the driver of the truck. (Notice that the dreamcatcher hanging from the truck's rear view mirror is the same one that was in the man's DJ booth), The truck, which is the same one he was driving when he ran over the cyclist, pulls up and shines it's lights on him, symbolizing blame and introspection, as well as acceptance of his guilt.
I'm unsure what the "Happy Birthday" text meant, but it might be that he was out celebrating his birthday the night of the accident, or he's being reminded of the crime because it's his victim's birthday. It also makes me wonder if the victim might have been the man's own daughter, for some reason. I'm not sure why, but it's a thought that has stuck with me.
While part of me wishes this would have been a full-length feature, I also fear that it would have lost too much tension if it had been drawn out that long. I highly recommend checking this out, and I look forward to finding out what others draw from it, since this is only my interpretation and I'm certainly not the authority on the subject.
I might be wrong, but in my interpretation everything in this short film is symbolic, and it takes place mostly, or completely, inside the main character's own head. I really liked this film, and when taken at face value, it's captivating and confusing little horror romp with good acting and very nice production value, but when you really watch closely and dig in deeper, it becomes a much more potent and horrifying tale of guilt and self loathing.
First of all, it's possible that the DJ isn't a DJ at all, or maybe he is, but either way, he used to be a plant worker who took to drinking when his job closed. I think this was hinted at by the first caller complaining about his plant closing, and the DJ's response that he's "been down that road many times" himself.
One night, it's unclear how long ago, the man, drunkenly ran over someone on a bike while driving home from the bar. He's now on a drinking binge (shown by the whiskey bottle's content level getting lower every time it's shown), trying to forget what he's done, but his conscience keeps "calling in" and requesting the dreaded song that will remind him of his misdeed. It's either the song that was playing on the bar's jukebox that night when he left to go home, or it was playing on his truck's radio when the accident occurred (or both).
"U14" might be the number for the song on the bar's jukebox, the route number of the road where he ran over the cyclist, or perhaps the victim's initial and age. The corpse-like monster represents his victim, and also serves as an incarnation of his guilt, and may also symbolize his fear of punishment for his crime, as well.
At the end, when the man goes outside for a cigarette, he's sobering up and coming out of hiding. He's confronted by himself , since he's also the driver of the truck. (Notice that the dreamcatcher hanging from the truck's rear view mirror is the same one that was in the man's DJ booth), The truck, which is the same one he was driving when he ran over the cyclist, pulls up and shines it's lights on him, symbolizing blame and introspection, as well as acceptance of his guilt.
I'm unsure what the "Happy Birthday" text meant, but it might be that he was out celebrating his birthday the night of the accident, or he's being reminded of the crime because it's his victim's birthday. It also makes me wonder if the victim might have been the man's own daughter, for some reason. I'm not sure why, but it's a thought that has stuck with me.
While part of me wishes this would have been a full-length feature, I also fear that it would have lost too much tension if it had been drawn out that long. I highly recommend checking this out, and I look forward to finding out what others draw from it, since this is only my interpretation and I'm certainly not the authority on the subject.
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