Rift (Short Film) Review ********(8.5)

A Terminator-type look at a dystopian future where the ethnic tables have been turned and the world now lives in a constant state of fear and despair. In an ironic twist, the slave-masters have become the slaves: The world is ruled by those who were once subjugated by it.

The lead character, played by Steven John Ward, decides to jump back in time and kill the man responsible for a war-torn and racialised future. Using a subtle reference to South Africa’s past, in a way similar to District 9, the leader of the “free” world has created a new Apartheid. As a result, in the same way that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (in Looper) had to go back in time and kill the boy who would become a worldwide terrorist (and Arnold Schwarzenegger had to go back in time to stop a boy from becoming a man and leading the human uprising), Ward must go back in time and kill the man responsible for the future; while he is still a boy and not yet a threat to society.

The short film is well scripted and well acted and bares the potential of becoming a great feature length film. The quality of the film is truly testimony to that. Furthermore, Ward shows great potential as the lead character and, with the right guidance, may well become a household name.

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