Now here’s a cool short you gotta check out. It’s what all the cool kids are talking about. Imagine if Jigsaw decided he needed to drop a beat; Rhyme or Die will have you at the edge of your seat. It’s a contest where you fight for the best position, not unlike the Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition. (Okay that’s enough.) Onto today’s horror short review.
I had the good fortune of seeing Max R Lincoln’s Rhyme or Die at the Atlanta Underground film festival (where it went on to win best horror short), and I haven’t stopped thinking of it since. Here’s why.
The Plot
When 5 individuals wake up on a warehouse floor under the glow of spotlights and with iron collars around their necks, they have seconds to get their bearings before a Dynamo “game master” sets the rhythm and informs them they’re ALL emcees. The game’s simple: choke or repeat a rhyme, and you’re toast.
The “contestants” are forced to decide whether or not they’ll work together in the cipher, or fend for themselves as the tempo increases and the sweat–or should I say blood–flows.
A Whole New Meaning to “Off the Dome”
Just as a plucky freestylist knows, timing is everything. There’s no fluff here in Alex Moran’s script. Rhyme or Die cuts straight to the chase and doesn’t spend a second boring us with unnecessary backstory or setup. The concept is simple, and the short runs with it. And when the fun’s over, Rhyme or Die doesn’t overstay its welcome.
What makes Rhyme or Die a gem is its ability to support the concept with enough story to take us all the way through to the end. I’m not talking about character arcs exactly, but each contestant is a realized and unique person that has believable and intriguing cause-and-effect reactions with the other contestants, be it the sincere youth worker, or the bemused actual rapper. There’s a decent balance of some snappy, but believable, rhymes pulled out at the last minute, but also normal, terrified characters doing their best to rhyme “face” and “race.” It’s a powder keg that goes beyond the idea of: “hey what if you LITERALLY had to rhyme or die?”
It’s possible to extrapolate that the short also targets an increasingly volatile and untenable music industry; one that takes advantage of artists (especially unestablished artists) by wrapping a monetary collar around their vocal cords. But for those that just want to be scared, the gore is there. It’s not over the top–a little subdued in fact–but pulled off with attractive precision and variety in the face of limited options. I mean, how many ways can a collar around your neck remove your dome?
And it’s funny! (Spoiler alert: the one poor white guy doesn’t even try.) The dynamo game master disorients the contestants with her absurdism that’s equal parts charming and creepy. It helps that the performances don’t skip a beat. With a challenging script, EVERY performance is top notch.
What Makes it Killer?
Straight to the point, funny, and with enough story to make us try and think of rhymes in-time with the contestants, Rhyme or Die never chokes.
After an impressive festival run, Rhyme or Die‘s been picked up by Alter, where it’s currently available.
Connect with the Filmmakers (they’re working on a feature):
Director: Max R Lincoln (website)
Writer: Alex Moran (Instagram)
Rasp Films (website)
