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

With a run time of just under 21 minutes, In Monster’s Hands is a multi-award winning crime thriller (with over 60 wins, and over 20 nominations) which is based on the true story of John and Hazel Durnavich, a retired couple who lived in Phoenix, Arizona, and who one day in the fall of 1998 were brutally attacked in a terrifying and horrific home invasion.

A very heavy, emotive, upsetting and serious subject matter for a movie, but one which is dealt with sensitively, with both talent and tact, as director, Christopher Sheffield (Run for Your Life, Off Sunset, Friday Night In Gotham, Terrible HR, Royals' Revenge, My Left Arm) and writer/producer Darren Burch (Telling Secrets, Badge Boys, Buried Alive: The Clay Killer, Who Killed Angel Adams?) step up to the plate to bring this re-telling of the Durnavich's story to life, raising awareness of the increasing problem of extreme and brutal violence against older people in the United States to the attention of the masses.

The opening of the film introduces us to the elderly couple as we see them relaxing at home after a shopping trip. However, it's not long before things take a turn and the sheer terror of the events of that fateful day play out for the viewer. This is handled carefully though, and Sheffield avoids needless or excessive gratuitousness, and leaves as much to the imagination as possible while still conveying enough to portray the horrors experienced by the Durnavichs.

Burch gives a convincing performance as the troubled, PTSD afflicted detective, Bret J Green who is assigned to investigate the attack on the Durnavichs. Cue a tense game of cat and mouse as the detective pieces together the clues in a race to catch up with the titular 'monster', played by Joran Bean (Finding Keepers, The Zip-Up Man, Some Nudity Required, Bite the Dust).

Commenting on the inception of this short film, Sheffield, the film's director said: "When Darren came to me with this incredible story of a dedicated law enforcement team that stopped a real-life monster, it felt like an absolute no-brainer that the story needed to be told."

However, Sheffield also hinted at exciting plans to tell this story in a longer-form feature format: "In this version we were only able to scratch the surface of the journey and introduce you to the players, but we're still working diligently behind the scenes to make sure this is a feature film and an incredible true story that we can tell in its entirety."

So watch this space, as it has been hinted here that there is potential we may hear more from the team of Sheffield and Burch on this story, as they are clearly passionate and share a drive to raise awareness on this issue, thus helping to tackle the growing problem of violent acts committed against older people in the United States - a cause undoubtedly worthy of attention, and one which should be addressed as a priority in the interest of civilised society, and for the wellbeing of all who wish to be part of it.

This short movie, while addressing an exceptionally sensitive subject matter and a very traumatic case, does have entertainment value as well as educational value, and will likely be enjoyed by fans of horror films and thrillers - with a good chance of finding its key audience and viewers predominantly among those who favour and consume content from the true-crime genre.