The Lamp


A short film about the most awkward, horrible and eventually terrifying date ever.
by Trevor Juras
English
14 Min / USA

ThrillerComedyDark

189

Spoilers warning

The less you know going into this film, the better. Kind of like going into a blind date. So our recommendation is you read the review AFTER watching the film. The film changes its tone without warning or preparation, starting from when two people who have just ended a failed date. They are the opposite of the kind of people you find in a Richard Linklater film in that they have no chemistry what-so ever, and the entire scene takes place in the back of the cab rather than in charming walks around Rome. They share a cab and an uncomfortable conversation, and fail to connect spectacularly. They are never going to meet each other again, and they know it. The film then suddenly shifts gears and moves onto a terrifying and suspenseful and eventually completely absurd place.

For every perfect union, connection, symmetry and chemistry between couples there are probably thousands of missed connections, false starts and ruinous meetings. The internet brings people together, but sometimes those people should never be in the same room. The man in the film has no interest in his date, I don't think he even really cares about the lamp. The only moment the camera comes alive in the film is when it rushes behind him in the hallway, following him in his mad-dash escape. This is what he lives for, the thrill of the escape, of pulling off something outlandish, invasive and slightly illegal. With his fetish satisfied, like every lonely masturbator, he returns to his empty but lamp filled apartment searching for something to watch on TV.

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