Short Film Review 2 - "Vudú" (Alejandra M. Perrusquía)

Vudú is a short film created by Alejandra M. Perrusquía (Mexico) for the 2017 short filmmaking competition 'DepicT!'.

The short opens with a panning shot of a young woman entering a room with a small basket clutched in her hand, followed by a small child. The woman continues to the center of the room, placing the basket down on a coffee table, after which she proceeds to sit on a couch and hand out small dolls - perhaps made of burlap, or some other kind of fabric - to whom we can only assume are her children.
 Two things immediately stand out in this short -one of which is not quite as important, but we'll look at it anyway. The first, and least important, is the filter/colour correction used on the short; it gives the shots a warm, homely feeling, reminiscent of depictions of the 1970s (which is the decade in which this short happens to be set).
 The second, more important, and more noticeable, is the music. It is very sinister, and contrasts heavily against the warm, happy tone of the visuals. It connotes some sort of ulterior motive, telling the viewer that all is not what it seems. This immediately makes the short feel very creepy, and unnerving; you do not expect pretty, young women with a large family, living in an expensive house (as evidenced by the tall doors and rooms) to be up to anything sinister.

The next shot is a medium shot of one of the children opening the basket and pulling out a small green box (perhaps some sort of re-purposed jewelry box) and out of that taking a small bundle of sowing needles. The shot then tracks to a child behind the first one who is taking the box of needles and also pulling out a bundle of needles; the same happens for the next child, and then the mother.
 The family then proceed to stab the dolls with the sowing needles. The music then changes, becoming deeper and faster paced, indicating that the events that are currently transpiring are the focus of the short.
 There is also a faint voice talking over the music, the voice is speaking in a foreign language (Spanish - but set in Mexico).
 When the family is finished practicing their Voodoo ritual, they look up at what we assume is the television, and begin to watch a game of football (evidenced by the subtitles describing the transpiring events). One can immediately connect the dots and come to the conclusion that they practiced this ritual in order to affect the outcome of the football match.
 After a few passes one of the teams score a goal, and we can tell from the reaction of the family that it is not their team - one of the children throws their voodoo doll on the ground, another throws theirs at the mother, and all of them look disappointed.
 We then learn during the credits (through subtitles) that it was World Cup match between Italy and Mexico and Mexico happened to be hosting that year; the goal that Italy scored during this short must have been the winning goal, as we learn that Mexico have been eliminated from their own world cup.

In conclusion:
 This short is very well put together, it doesn't give too much away about the plot until the very end, and the camera and editing techniques mirror that of a professional standard.
 This short at first gives the viewer an ominous feeling, that of something evil and sinister, but then shifts gears at the end and becomes something light hearted and happy.

 Video link:
https://www.depict.org/2017/vudu/?category_request=2017