Joel Edgerton
The Dad
"A kid. His mum and dad. The sex and drugs. And the boy next door who watched the whole thing unravel."
In Crossbow the spoiler is right in front of you, there in the title. A crossbow is an anachronistic device and does not, at least in my mind, lend itself well to analogy or metaphor. In spite, or, more accurately, precisely because this ominous title hangs over the very start of viewing, the short film remarkably sustains a growing dread throughout its languid narration and slow-moving, though arresting visuals; maximizing its force not through the promise of surprise but through the inevitability of its conclusion.
Director
Writer
The Young One
1960
The Trigger Effect
1996
The Reflecting Skin
1990
Amber Alert
2024
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
2010
Sovereign
2025
Suburbia
1984
Come Sunday
2018
Eleanor the Great
2025
The Road Dance
2022
First Snow
2006
September
1987
Skater Girl
2021
What Maisie Knew
2013
The Boston Strangler
1968