A very strange watch indeed. We bring you our Hungry Joe Short Film review.
The latest short film by multi-award-winning writing-directing duo Paul Holbrook and Sam Dawe.
Only recently has Hungry Joe completed post-production and they sent it straight over to us!
The filmmakers are currently submitting the short to international film festivals for release towards the end of 2020!
As with their previous Bafta-Qualifying short films, ‘Hungry Joe’ splices character-driven social realism with a big splash of genre – in this case a slow-burn, itchy, body horror.
‘Hungry Joe’ stars Shunk Films regular Laura Bayston (Ellen, Killing Eve), Joe Sims (Broadchurch, Britannia) and introduces an exciting emerging talent in Andrew Greaves.
‘Hungry Joe’ tells the contemporary short story (loosely based on the true story of Tarrare) of a single mother who struggles to bond with her apathetic child; born with an insatiable and increasingly inhumane appetite.
This strange film doesn’t deliver anything in the way of an explanation as to why Joe is the way he is but I have a feeling this was intentional.
A nauseous and gross little short that certainly wouldn’t be one to watch whilst having a meal.
Joe just eats and eats and eats and it doesn’t matter what is put in front of him he’ll lap up every bite.
We follow Joe from a baby and he grows up as the film progresses. His hunger grows bigger to fit his growing size. Doctors oblivious to help and we slowly watch the mother unravel as she cannot cope with the monster her son has become.
It’s hard to review a short like this. Purely made to gross you out but at the same time it was shot beautifully and the practical effects were very impressive indeed.
Hungry Joe is a film that can be interpreted in numerous ways. A mother’s inability to cope with a newborn, a slob of a son eating away at his mother’s will to carry on, so many possibilities and interpretations.
So whilst it’s a little gross to watch, it’s meanings and motives run deeper than just the stomach acid inducing visuals.
It never felt like a low budget short. It certainly looks the part and made my stomach somersault a few times!
Hungry Joe Short Film Review by Sean Evans
Our Rating
Summary
A rather grotesque and stomach-churning short that tries to drive home an undercard narrative but sadly my eyes are far too distracted by the gross-out visuals in front of me to even dare to delve deeper into the meaning of his little horror short.
