Ever been tempted to answer one of those greasy Craigslist personals ads? Trolled PlentyofFish for some one night stands? Yeah, me neither but i know people (oh do I know people) who’ve make deviance of all kinds a way of life and have heard many a firsthand account of such encounters gone right,right being a matter of taste and morals. This little film should serve as a warning to them as to maybe think twice about that little anonymous rendezvous or one night stand. Not every ones intentions may be as pure (so to speak) as yours are and sometimes the danger can come from both parties. Unlike the last short i reviewed (Eat Me) Date Night doesn’t really set out to tell you anything about yourself or comment on society (unless maybe you count the PlentyofFish/Craigslist crowd), it just wants to keep you tensed up and guessing.

The film starts out as innocently as it can given the circumstances of the characters reason for meeting, though I have to say I called the twist almost immediately based off of a few lines of dialogue. Maybe this is just because I’m a genre fiend and devour 10-15 horror movies a week, it’s hard to say. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the short ride presented here (Date Night clocks in at a quick 11 minutes) or that I didn’t like trying to guess how this predatory face off would play out. Date Night stars Joel Murray, known most notably for his roles on Dharma and Greg (yup, you read that right) and Mad Men in the lead role as a seemingly harmless man just looking for some female companionship, albeit with a less than ideal end for his companion. Obviously used to being the predator in what we are to assume one of many such encounters, he quickly realizes he has bit off more than he can chew and his date has turned the tables on him. I won’t really say any more about this as it’ll probably take you almost as long to read my write up as it will to watch this film, but know that director Joe Charbanic (The Watcher) manages to pack a fair bit of tension into the 11 minute run time he’s working with here. I’d say overall this little escape into serial killer territory is fairly effective. It made me jump a few times but wasn’t dependent on that like so many films are these days to build a tense atmosphere and kept me wondering how and when our innocuous killer would get himself out of the dangerous situation he put himself in. Check out this short, if only as a sample of what more is to come from director Joe Charbanic n the next few years;he has some interesting looking stuff coming down the pipe.