REVIEW: Rob Hurtt

With writer and director Robb Hurtt currently in pre-production for his first feature film, I took a look back at his career over the past few years and the five short films he shot to intrigue, disturb and shock us.

Wave (2007)
Wave is a quirky film that defies genre conventions. Thought-provoking and warm, it follows the Cringles, whose monotonous lives are disrupted by a strange visitor – and all without dialogue. It’s strange, it’s sparse, and it will take you by surprise.

Soho Sunset (2009)
Crackling with tension, Soho Sunset explores themes of betrayal and desire with the story of a mob boss finding his runaway lady in a Soho strip joint. Hurtt’s clever direction places them on the stage and the viewer as part of the leering audience – which means watching the film puts you in an uncomfortable position. But you have to watch, if only for Paul Kelleher’s fantastic performance, which veers frighteningly between demonic and fatherly. It’s dialogue-heavy, even clichéd, but it works.

Mr and Mrs Love (2011)
A dark retelling of evacuation in World War Two, Mr and Mrs Love is in essence a fairytale about what happens when two children are sent to live with a couple who belch, bully and behave badly. Alison Garland is a fearsome and domineering Mrs Love; Paul Kelleher a mocking and flatulent Mr Love. Their on-screen presence makes this an incredibly engaging film.

I Remember April (2011)
Simple but brilliant, I Remember April is a film you’ll be thinking about for days after you’ve watched it. The more Dougie (Eric Colvin) talks, the more fanciful his stories become, and eventually he reveals a little too much about himself to an unassuming shopkeeper. A film about delusion, the unreliable narrator, and what happens when reality and dreams get mixed up.

A Kiss So Warm and Tender (2013)
A Kiss So Warm and Tender reads like the climax of a thrilling noir, telling a story of jealousy, deceit and the lengths one man will go to to get revenge. Again, Paul Kelleher is in the role of mafia boss, and again, he’s doing it incredibly well. Clichéd, yes, but cliché at its best.