"Legend of the Seven Bloody Torturers" 

Directed by: Conall Pendergast 

Runtime: 5 min

Screened on Wed, Aug. 19, 7pm, in front of feature film Must Love Death

"Legend of the Seven Bloody Torturers" is about a clerk that has been assigned to a dungeon to evaluate the torturers' effectiveness, but runs into a few problems when his presence becomes known. I really enjoyed this short because it reminded me of Orson Welles’s film The Trial as well as Terry Gilliam’s Brazil -  both films notably criticizing the bureaucratic process.

I compared the film to Gilliam because it possessed a very Python-like humour to it, such as when the clerk is attempting to attract the torturers' attention, but instead he engages in a conversation with two of the prisoners. The prisoners give the clerk advise by saying “you have to be assertive!!!” as well as discussing how the torturers are actually true artists of their trade. However, once the dreaded message from the bosses arrive (from mail chute), the torturers turn on our dear bureaucrat.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film and would love to see more of Conall Pendergast other works, especially if they possess elements of Franz Kafka, Orson Welles and Terry Gilliam.