Glimpse (2016) Short Film Review

Madness… it’s something that we can all slip into if we aren’t careful. That’s why it’s so important to not take life too seriously. It’s crucial to have something you enjoy, like a hobby or something to help you unwind. Some peoples’ passions turn into obsessions, which leads to the very madness that they had tried so hard to stay away from. That is the basic premise of Glimpse.

Glimpse is a short film written and directed by John Nicol (Channel Zero 2016). The short stars Andre Becker (Blood for Irina 2012), Cory Ivanchuk, and John Nicol (Secret Santa 2015). Becker also composed the score for the short. The plot centers on a cinephile as he loses his grip on reality and slips into madness.

Glimpse is an unusual flick. Besides the constant background music, it is a silent film. There is not a single spoken line of dialogue. The story is pretty open to interpretation. The short opens to a man stringing out the film from a canister. We get several glimpses of various strange and graphic images but we are never given the slightest hint of a context. Are they memories, pieces of films he has seen or are they his own depraved thoughts? Your guess is as good as mine and probably just as correct. The film feels like a long lost music video for an industrial metal band. Its very rapid fire and almost stream of consciousness, like we are seeing the inner workings of the man’s brain.

Final Thoughts

Glimpse, while being a very interesting film, is probably a little out there for the mainstream horror masses.The plot ins’t easily explained and I’m sure different people would get completely different things out of the film. I’ve watched it four times and I honestly still don’t know if I get it. That being said, if you are interested in cinema that doesn’t just think outside the box but destroys it completely, then I recommend you give Glimpse a watch.