It’s hard to make a movie. It’s even harder to make a good movie―one with interesting characters and an involving story. It’s harder still to achieve all of this in a film with a twenty-minute running time. But that’s what writer/director Mike Williamson has done with his horrific new short film, In the Wall.

It’s one of the hottest days of the year, and poor Jonelle is very, very pregnant. Not only that, but she’s also married to one of the biggest jerks around. Christopher doesn’t work, he doesn’t do any chores around the house, he doesn’t help Jonelle carry the groceries up the stairs, and he doesn’t want the baby. And just when you think he can’t get any worse, he does. Much, much worse.

In the Wall grabs you right from the start with its nuanced setup and the accomplished performances of its players. As Jonelle, Erin Brown crafts another wonderful piece of acting. She’s really on a roll lately. After getting her start as Misty Mundae in films that required more nudity than talent, Brown has done her time and honed her chops, resulting in several great performances. Chris McKenna’s turn as Christopher shows he has a knack for bringing an asshole to life, which really is as hard a trick as it sounds. Movie buffs will be excited to see Patty McCormack (star of The Bad Seed) pop up as Jonelle and Christopher’s suspicious landlady. 

Mike Williamson has been paying his dues for a while now. He knows filmmaking from the ground up, and it shows. During the film’s short length, he masterfully juggles several tonalities―comedy, drama, horror, suspense―but never once drops a ball. Film is a collaborative art form, and Williamson seems to know success depends on surrounding oneself with good partners. He’s ably assisted here by Clint Mansell’s effective score and Lyn Moncrief’s expressive cinematography.

Reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe and the old EC comics stories, In the Wall is truly an accomplished piece of storytelling. Each time I watch it, I think of Rod Serling’s old TV shows, Night Gallery and Twilight Zone. This would have been a perfect episode. Submitted for your approval, a tale so shocking is can only be…In the Wall.