The Audition is a unique kidnapping story, featuring some cringe-worthy moments and a completely unexpected twist.
The story focuses on an unnamed actress (Hollybeth Gourlay) who goes to audition for a role in a horror movie. She meets with “the Director” (Jackson Trent), who kidnaps and tortures her as a way to motivate her towards a perfect performance. Interspersed with the torture scenes are scenes of the Director being interviewed by an unnamed man (Joel David Taylor) about how he created the greatest horror film of our time, and how he got such a realistic performance out of the Actress.
There is a very unexpected twist to the story, which I really liked. I also really enjoyed the torture scenes. Even though they were simply executed, and often cut to black without showing the actual acts, they still created an incredible amount of tension and made me cringe. The performances delivered by Trent and Gourlay were excellent. They were great choices for their respective roles. I liked the music in the film as well.
The Audition was written and directed by Anthony Raus and has a runtime of about 20 minutes. Overall, it was an enjoyable short film. I’ve seen the premise before, but not the twist. Fans of found-footage style kidnapping stories will definitely enjoy it!
