The Tent is a short film directed by Rene Rivas (The Spirit of Haddonfield) and Bryan C. Goff (Bloody Border) that shows what a talented crew can do with a limited runtime and budget. The film will be released on October 1st on multiple platforms, including YouTube, Vimeo, and Amazon.
The Tent follows Heather (Marla Robison), who, on her day off, runs through a forest trail. During her outing, she continuously encounters a red tent sitting in the woods. When Heather is eventually forced to interact with the tent, things don’t go quite as expected.
During its 14-minute runtime, the primary focus is Heather and her run down the trail. Rivas and Goff made great use of the scenery, giving us beautiful shots to feast our eyes on and nice slow-motion camerawork. The run is broken up as Heather messages with a friend, which helps tell the story without anyone else to converse with.
While the cinematography looked great, and Robison is a delight to watch on-screen, it became a bit too focused on the run at times with extended running shots and could have been shortened.
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Another major aspect of The Tent is the score. Rivas, who also did all of the music himself, said he was going for an ’80s Carpenter-esque sound, and he got it exactly right. The music is a great fit and elevates the film quite well.
While I intentionally keep the plot details vague, I will say that I enjoyed the story and the mystery that came along with it. I found myself trying to figure out key details until the very end and was left both satisfied and surprised. The Tent takes a familiar concept for horror anthology fans and adds its own unique spin. Although the cast and crew are extremely small, there is a lot of talent both in front of and behind the camera.
So, kick start October with a mysterious and creepy run through the woods. You’ll be glad you did!
