Maybe Next Year

This review contains some spoilers.

Do you want to watch a short, dark, touching drama? Well, this may be for you. Mike Storch beautifully directs this really short movie, creating, what seems like, a happy atmosphere...to start off with. Lasting only 14 scenes, which are all relatively short, when the caption right at the end comes up, Maybe Next Year really does make you think. From scenes four to eight, the Christmas mood is set extremely well. The background music, Silent Night, is being played peacefully, and we see the Christmas tree, a wreath, a turkey with plates on the table, and most importantly, a present under the Christmas tree. It says, "To My Children".

Of course, saying more will ruin the movie completely, but a whole scene is dedicated to that particular present, on its own. From scene nine onwards, the music turns more dark and chilling, the atmosphere is tensified, especially scene ten, zooming very slightly to a dark room, and all this builds up to the ending. All the tension leads to a dramatic and touching end, and Mike Storch has indeed animated a brief, but solid dark drama. Maybe Next Year shows how short, chilling dramas should be done. It might not be the best one around, but it definitely is one to download and watch.

Score: 76/100