Excision Review

Excision Review By Sharon Foss

There is no doubt where Excision will lead you when the short film begins, but the shock of how it ends will swim in your subconscious long after the Stop button is hit.

The short film begins with a friendly hand. The hand extends as if to say, “Hey come with me and I’ll take you on a truly special journey.” The unwitting viewer realizes too late that they are now caught up in a family web that reveals what truly goes on behind closed doors.

Pauline, played by a creepy yet endearing Tessa Ferrer, is in high school. While the natural progression of any high school student interested in becoming a doctor takes place on the college path, Pauline isn’t like other students. Pauline has a younger sister Grace who has bad lungs. Someday she will need a double lung transplant, but as Pauline reminds her mother, those are very expensive.

Never fear! Pauline’s been practicing. Dead animals in the neighborhood become test subjects. Hours are spent in the library studying the art of surgery. She lives and breathes cutting. She dreams of blood, stitches, scalpels and lacerations. It exhilarates her. But that’s all Pauline has. Her parents dote on Grace, while admonishing Pauline for existing.

That doesn’t stop Pauline. She knows she has to be the one to save her sister. Now, if she can just find a donor…

Writer and director Richard Bates, Jr. debuts his talent in 2008’s Excision. And by the looks of the film, story and the awards and accolades he’s received already, it doesn’t look like he’ll be stopping anytime soon! Here is a list of just some of the awards the movie has received:

•    Shockerfest International Film Festival winner of Best Mini-Short Horror Film and Best Actress
•    Eerie Horror Film Festival winner of Best Short Film and Best Actress
•    Sacramento Horror Film Festival winner of Best Short Film
•    Arizona Underground Film Festival winner for Best Horror Short Film
•    Terror Film Festival winner of Best Screenplay
•    Shockfest 2008 winner of Best of Fest
•    Washington, D.C. Independent Film Festival winner of Best in Horror
•    Honolulu International Film Festival winner of Best Student Film
•    NYU First Run Film Festival winner of Faculty Commendation for Excellence in Filmmaking, the Craft Award for Sound Design and the Craft Award for Acting.

If you can spare 18 minutes of your life, take the journey through Excision. You won’t be sorry.