DEAD ENDERS - FIDEL RUIZ-HEALY & TYLER WALKER (2023)

Directed by American filmmakers Fidel Luiz-Healy and Tyler Walker, with writing credits including Jordan Michael Blake and Conor Murphy, Dead Enders is a 1980s throwback Americana horror short that recalls feature films like The Mist (2007) and Alien (1979). The Mist novella was written in 1980. It is a fun story with nice dialogue about a gas station clerk pretending that she has a dream job, giving the amount of cigarette breaks and free beer she can take. However, will she learn the error of her ways when alien bugs invade the area and promise her an eternity of cigarette breaks? It is, for the most part, beautifully made with much effort put into both VFX and SFX. I would have prefered it if the filmmakers had not caught their filming lights so obviously in a character's glasses (I suspect their camera monitor was not large enough for them to notice during the shoot) but that's just me. If you like Dead Enders by Fidel Luiz-Healy and Tyler Walker be sure to rate it and share it!