REVIEW - In Monster’s Hands (Directed by Christopher Sheffield)

Opening with a warning to viewers about "violent content" which is "based on true crime events", this short true-crime thriller hits the ground running and really doesn't waste time in telling a traumatic, difficult story.

We are introduced to an elderly couple returning from a shopping trip, as they park their car outside their home. Text overlays appear on screen to offer some stark and troubling figures and statistics about the increasing problem of elderly abuse and violence against older people in America, informing the viewer that it's "estimated there are as many as 5 million instances of elderly abuse" annually in the United States, adding that the amount of "assaults and homicides" on elderly people has been rising steadily "over the last 15 years".

The scene is quickly set as we watch the couple inside their home, with the husband relaxing in front of the television, as the wife unpacks groceries in the room next door.

Directed by Christopher Sheffield (Run for Your Life, Off Sunset, Friday Night In Gotham, Terrible HR, Royals' Revenge, My Left Arm) and written and produced by Darren W. Burch (Telling Secrets, Badge Boys), In Monster's Hands is a challenging short movie, which bravely tackles a very emotive subject, through the harrowing true-life story of John and Hazel Durnavich, an elderly couple from Phoenix, Arizona, who were brutally attacked in their own home on Monday 19th October 1998.

This is impressively portrayed in a confronting, yet (dare I say) tasteful manner, using a judicious blend of gore and a clever mix of camera angles/shots to imply precisely the horrific details of the attack without being needlessly gratuitous or explicit.

Darren W. Burch, also not averse to being in front of the camera (Buried Alive: The Clay Killer, Who Killed Angel Adams?) takes a lead role here as police officer Sgt. Jim Markey, giving a sincere and believable performance, while Fred Girle (Badge Boys) does a fine job in the role of John Durnaviche. However, cast as John's wife, Hazel Durnaviche, Pamela Fields (Badge Boys) gives a heartbreakingly compelling performance, conveying emotively the horrifying trauma in the aftermath of the attack; made all the more difficult to watch by the fact that she has a fleeting resemblance to the much loved, late acting and comedy legend Betty White.

In terms of film grammar, dramatic close-ups are used effectively, while the use of slow-motion also raises tension well here, while good sound design helps to place further emphasis, but this also compliments the pacing, giving an overall slick feeling to this short thriller, which is sadly undermined by some messy onscreen text overlays, which detract from the overall appearance of production value and quality.

This is an enjoyable film, but really only manages to scratch the very surface of this case, but that said, it does a good job of conveying the seriousness of the subject matter, and creating intrigue sufficient enough to turn most of it's viewers to further research.

The creepy aspects of the antagonist here, referred to as "the monster" played by Joran Bean (Badge Boys) are conveyed rather confrontingly at the ending/finish of the film, which is well-crafted, if a little premature - I say this because I would have liked to have seen Sgt. Jim Markey catch "the monster" that did this to a sweet elderly Betty White lookalike.

Scored 8/10 by MegaFlix Movie Awards.