Today I review the the Australian serial killer horror short Tell the Devil I Said Hello by Gary O’Toole.

Synopsis

A repressive horror story about morality, sin and death. Daniel Oosen is a serial killer and being a serial killer can be murder.

Review

Who says Australians can’t make a good flick? After all, they did give us Mad Max and Razorback. I hear often that the film industry in Australia is very much in disarray or non-existent. That doesn’t mean there’s other filmmakers out there making movies and putting them out online or otherwise for us to enjoy.

This is Gary O’Toole’s first stint into making short films and he doesn’t too bad of a job either. In the opening scene the first thing I noticed was how the vibrant color of blood contrasted against an otherwise pale white sink and bathroom. This kind of attention to detail can be helpful, especially when you need to point something out to an audience and there’s not much time to do it.

Some scenes, especially those that are heavy with white, do appear to be washed out. That could be intentional since I do prefer my color grading a little different. The shot composition though is steady throughout. You can tell there was a lot of thought behind this, not just in the principal photography but in the editing bay as well.

Sound could have been mixed a little better with some EQ work, but it’s not a distraction from the overall picture.

My only real complaint is with the Eastern European accent. It just doesn’t seem like a good fit, or the actor was forcing it a bit too hard. Not exactly a major problem, but something the director should consider on any later projects.

I think Mr. O’Toole might be someone to watch out for in the future. He does have an eye for visual storytelling in my opinion and I think with a little more practice in post he’ll be turning out some amazing films in the future.

What did you think of Tell the Devil I Said Hello? Leave a comment below.

Information

Genre: Horror
Country: Australia
Release Year: 2011
Directed, written, and produced by: Gary O’Toole
Runtime: 20 min.
Cast: Michael Fouchè, Karen Sawyer, Sian Carroll, Clare O’Toole
Director’s Twitter: @garyotoole66

Technical

Camera: —
Lenses: —