Interview with Matt Dillon Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Just One Gift

We sat down with one man film crew Matt Dillon to discuss his debut short film Just One Gift, the conversation covered everything from chasing your dreams, to the popularity of Krampus and why this film stays away from that, to the innate creepiness of Christmas.

What were the inspirations behind this film, what sparked your interest in making it?

MD: My inspiration for jumping into filmmaking is my passion for the horror genre. It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do, and I felt like if not now, then I might not ever. I just had limited resources and felt like I could make something with what I had lying around the house, so I decided to make something that revolved around the holiday.

There have been a number of Christmas set horror films but not that many featuring the devil/demons why do you think people gravitate towards a Krampus instead?

MD: I believe people gravitate towards Krampus since his story is well known, and there is lots of lore to his story.

What do you think is about Christmas that lends itself so well to horror?

MD: I believe Christmas is perfect for the horror genre due to the lights and the overall vibes and atmosphere. Taking something so jolly and turning it into a nightmare is always a fun treat.

What is the scariest gift you have ever received?

MD: I would say the scariest gift I ever received was a duffle bag my older brother brought home. He laid it on the ground, and it was moving. I unzipped it to find a very aggressive Pomeranian he tried to give me as a surprise, but we ended up getting rid of it.

Do you have any funny or interesting stories from production?

MD: As for something revolving around this production, it ended up being an experience due to me never having picked up a camera and having no idea how to do anything besides turn it on, to continuously figuring out how difficult it could possibly be to direct not only a seven-year-old child but my son. He definitely quit on me like 10 times, but he pulled through and couldn’t wait to be in the newest one we’re making currently.

Any tips for future filmmakers who may want to follow in your footsteps?

For future filmmakers that would like to follow in my footsteps, the biggest thing that I can say to you is that you never need to wait. Even if you don’t have the budget or everything figured out, grab some friends and create the content. The only one stopping you is yourself, and it took me years to learn that. Also, if you think of something, write it down immediately. Even if your notes end up becoming a jumbled mess, if you stare at them long enough, you can take that one small thought and turn it into a fantastic scene

Next steps for you as a filmmaker are you going to make more shorts, are you going to make the film feature length what’s next for you

As of now, I’m gonna stay on the path of releasing short films. I’m currently filming our next short, which I plan to drop on Halloween, and then I plan to focus on hopefully a dark comedy in time for Thanksgiving. I would love to do something bigger one day, but with the budget that’s in front of me, I’m just happy to be bringing some of my ideas to life with some of my best friends.

If you would like to check out the film for yourselves you can do so on the YouTube Channel Scorched Cabin Productions.

If you are a filmmaker and want us to review your film then you can simply write to us on any social media you find us on and ask us, it doesn’t matter how big or small your film is, everyone deserves a chance to have their films seen by other people and talked about.

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Just One Gift: Sleep Tight On Christmas Eve

Summary: a child gets a present early on Christmas eve from an evil source.

This short really works through the reinvention of the idea of the bad analogue to Santa, we’ve had Krampus, but here the film introduces a demon or possibly devil figures and merges the idea of gifting giving at Christmas with deals from the devil. It’s a very novel and interesting concept.

The pace, which is obviously affected by it being a short film, is used very well and nothing is needless every single second builds the tension.

The main downside is the cinematography is a little spotty in places and a little shaky where it shouldn’t be, this can be jarring.

Overall, a good horror short that has a novel spin on the idea of evil Santa.

3.5/5

Pros.

The pace

The twist of evil Santa

The tension

The ending

Cons.

The cinematography

It could do with more dialogue

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Verity: Even More Basic Than Pumpkin Spice

Summary: an incredibly generic thriller goes the way you would expect it too.

So, this is what happens when you let edgy teen girls or women who haven’t matured since that age write a book. Assuming some of the narration is imported from the book, then it is some of the biggest cringe you might ever hear, I am broken but the world is broken kind of thing, no one has got me as I am so deep and edgy etc.

The mystery is clawingly obvious from the beginning. If you didn’t get it we would say go to your doctor and have them check out your brain. Verity is the good character she has done nothing wrong yet she is murdered by mistake after her husband and the woman taking over her book series assume a manuscript from a woman who writes dark novels is true. That’s the big twist and my word is it is expected.

Some people are calling this an erotic thriller but what is erotic about Dakota Johnson masterbating and the water turning to blood? Or seeing Anne Hathaway bite down on a piece of wood hard enough to leave teeth marks, somehow not damaging her teeth, to show she is orgasming? Again it’s what an edgy teenager thinks sex is like.

Finally, all the characters are just awful people, Harnett’s character is fine cheating on his disabled wife, Johnson’s character, the protagonist is a happy homewrecker who wants to take everything Verity has, and Verity is shown as a child killer until the twist at the end of the film.

Who is the likeable character here.

Overall, a wine mom thriller of basic proportions.

2/5

Dakota Johnson tries her best

It’s so bad it’s funny at a few points

Cons.

The dialogue is awful

The twist predictable

It’s deeply cringe

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Tales Of 85 Season 2: Are We Still Doing This?

Summary: Netflix cannot accept that people don’t care about Stranger Things anymore and so keep making an animated show no one wants to watch.

We are getting to a point in this show where the question becomes okay why didn’t this play a larger role in the show, or why wasn’t this mentioned again. There are whole characters that you would expect to either appear or play a much bigger role in the main show that they do based on their appearance here.

The series seems to feel like you won’t notice the plot holes or poor characterisation as long as they have big action moments every few minutes, but they can’t mask the emptiness. The action is empty too as you know the kids are going to be okay, the only real danger is for the kids who don’t appear on the main show, and you don’t care about them.

Hopefully Netflix cancels this as it just serves no one.

1/5

Pros.

The episodes are shorter slightly

Cons.

It’s boring

There are no stakes

The action has no real peril

The plot holes

Shaun The Sheep The Beast Of Mossy Bottom: No Were-Rabbit

Summary: a science experiment turns the farmer into a knock off big foot.

This is a deeply average film, Aardman does a lot for stop motion but this film just feels like a retread when you compare it to something like the trailers for Wildwood.

The fact that there is no dialogue in the whole film doesn’t help, obviously there is minimal spoken dialogue in Shaun The Sheep broadly, however this comes as a detriment as it often impacts the films ability to connect with audiences and to be funny.

The actual Halloween appeal of it doesn’t go very far and the mystery of what or who the monster is, is solved by Shaun almost immediately. When you look at something like Curse of the Were- Rabbit there were lots of references to classic British horror and the film did far more to be as scary as you can be in a kids film, this film was a lot tamer.

Overall, deeply meh.

2/5.

Pros.

A few funny moments

The score

Cons.

The pacing

The lack of creepiness, yes it’s a kid’s film but they could have done more

The ending

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Pressure: Powering Through The Death Of Your Wife and Kid

Summary: the battle to provide a forecast that could save thousands of lives.

This film was good but the pacing was quite slow, if the pacing had been tighter and moved quicker they could have created a sense of tension and pressure with the editing, they didn’t do that and so the film had lulls.

The characters outside of the protagonist were quite one note, if this was how they were in real life then there is little to be done, but if not the film needed to do more to develop them and have them be something more than they are.

The film is interesting and shows a different side to D-Day to what many people will be familiar with but it is a bit too slow and a bit too thin on the characters to be truly good.

Overall, interesting but not great.

2.5/5

Pros.

It shows a new side to D-Day

They manage to have parts of the film be tense

The ending

Cons.

It’s slow

The characters are thin

It takes a minute to get going

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Practical Magic 2: A Whole Lot Of Plastic

Summary: a needless sequel is born

The main issue out of the gate with this film is the characterisation of Sally, the first film had the whole point of her character be her need to embrace what she is. Yet we start the second film right back at square one again.

Kidman and Bullock have good chemistry when they are in harmony together however a lot of the first quarter of the film has them bickering when you can’t hear what anyone is saying and it’s irritating.

Maisie Williams might as well not be in the film as she is left out of most of it with it really being about Joey King, Bullock and Kidman. Once again this seems like an odd structural oversight.

The lifting of the Owen’s family curse as should have happened in the first film is a nice sight to see and the sacrifice needed to make it happen does feel impactful if a little manipulative.

Overall, needles but a good mindless trip to the cinema.

3/5

Pros.

The jokes are better

The tone works

The deaths land

Cons.

The CGI is awful

Bullock is regressed

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Fall 2: A Step Over A Ledge

Summary: one of the girls from the first film’s sister decides she wants to do some climbing.

There was a low budget, Angel Studios feel to this film from it’s lack of effects to its focus on evil drug smugglers, it felt gritty and cheap and not in a good way.

Rather than being back Grace Caroline Curry we have to meet a new host of characters which are nowhere near as likeable, with one the sister of the girl from the first film strongly hating Curry’s character for no real reason at all.

They are trying to set up some sort of Fall shared universe due to the film doing well on Netflix but no one wants this except maybe the crew themselves.

The first one worked the second one is already starting to feel gimmicky.

Overall, a sub part sequel

2/5

Pros.

Some good tense moments

It is well paced

Cons.

It looks cheap

The whole drug smuggling side plot

The tiresome cameo to turn it into an Avengers for mountaineers

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Cinema Issues: The Leftist Outrage At Ali G

So you may have seen that there is a group out there trying to cancel the new Ali G film as it features harmful depictions and these people cannot handle being offended.

The argument of this piece is that this has less to do with Ali G and far more to do with Sasha Baron Cohen and the fact he is Jewish. Since October 7th the left has fallen in love with terrorists and has grown increasingly anti Semitic, notice how when Bruno or Borat 2 came out there was far less of a pushback or move to cancel. Yet the new Ali G film comes out in a post October 7th world and so the left wants to cancel it. The idea of dated representations have nothing to do with it they don’t like that such a prominent Jewish actor, who hasn’t apologised for being so, would dare lead a film.

As this culture war continues to burn on it becomes incredibly obvious that the left weren’t the side of purity and equality they painted themselves as. They hated groups that didn’t conform to how they saw the world, be it straight people or Jews who dare to exist and believe that the state of Israel should as well. This is yet a new battle ground in that war, the fact remains Amazon is backing this so it will get a wide theatrical spread, the efforts to boycott it won’t work just as the efforts to cancel J.K Rowling didn’t.

It’s just pathetic.

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Bad Apples: Finally A Good Dark Comedy

Summary: Dark comedies are notoriously hard to do, either the film is too dark and becomes a drama or it takes things into a silly direction. This film manages to have both darker moments, the kidnapping of a child, but also make it not as depressing as that premise sounds.

The film is sometimes overtly funny and asks you to laugh at some quite messed up things, but Saoirse Ronan does a good job in being both funny but also clearly warped by what she is doing. She doesn’t turn it into just a silly goof and that’s important.

The main issue with the film is that it does not know when to end and has a habit of staying past its welcome.

Overall, a funny dark comedy film.

4/5

Ronan

It’s funny

It gets the tone right

There are some great WTF moments

Cons.

It overstays it’s welcome

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