"Undying Love" – A short review of a short by writer/director Joe Kidd

Short films can be a very tricky thing.  There is a fine line between too much and too little.  A story must be told in a quick manner.  Budgets are usually smaller and schedules are tighter making the filming even more difficult.  When one is done right, however, the results can be highly entertaining.  Joe Kidd proves that he knows how to find all the right balances of a short film with Undying Love.

Joe Kidd immediately sets the right tone as he presents us with a shot that makes it look like we are about to see a typical zombie feature.  A shambling ghoul attempts to force his way into a house with little success.  The part is presented in black and white to add to the nostalgic effect of some of the best zombie films produced, such as Night of the Living Dead.  Quickly, the shot turns to color and we realize that this is not your typical, mindless undead.  Our zombie, Kinny, opens the door and goes about his typical zombie day.

Undying Love presents another pair of elements that can be very difficult to properly combine, that of horror and comedy.  The focus here is vastly on the comedy with the characters happening to be zombies and other supernatural creatures.  Given the status of the film as a short, Kidd does not spend any time beyond the opening shot focusing on the horror aspect.  Instead, we are presented with a great zombedy, or zom-com if you prefer.  The humor is quick and will make you chuckle throughout.  My particular favorite is Kidd’s clever choice of names for the supernatural dating service, reaniMATE.  The acting is solid throughout the short, giving the right undertones of comedy without going over the top.  There are some occasional issues with the makeup effects, but before judging too critically, one must remember that this is a low budget short and you have to be a little forgiving at things that are going to be tied to availability of funds.

Overall, I found Undying Love to be a very strong short film.  It is definitely enough to intrigue me to see what Joe Kidd and his cast and crew could do with a full-length feature.  While Undying Love is not currently available for general viewing, you can follow updates on it at the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheUndyinglovemovie.  Currently, Kidd plans on having the short feature at a local screening in Dayton, Ohio along with other local short films.  A date, time, or location has not currently been set for this event, but you can be sure that news will be available here at The Rage Circus as it is announced.