Directed by Michelle Ayoub
Review by Amanda Rebholz
Googling ‘The Pleasure of His Company’ will pull up a Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds film which I’m sure is quite charming and fun in the way that most films of that era were; however, that film would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb at the Fears for Queers horror film festival, which was where I saw another cinematic piece by the same title this weekend.
The version I saw was only a few minutes long, had no dialogue, and solicited a single uniform gasp (along with some nervous chuckles) from the audience upon delivering its punch line.
The short by Michelle Ayoub is indeed brief, a film set entirely to a whimsical classical soundtrack and featuring close-up shots of a man preparing dinner for an unseen guest. He is chopping up meat and boiling vegetables for a stew; we are treated to a great many tight shots of groceries which unfortunately aren’t quite as well-lit or designed as the culinary porn one might find on Food Network. However, anyone who knows anything about meat will be able to recognize what the main character has on his chopping block, and when the twist is revealed at the end, it comes as little surprise to the majority of fans. The short is no new territory, and treads dangerously on being so predictable that the audience is just biding their time until the expected twist is revealed, but it is enjoyable enough to give it a watch. However, once was enough for me; it’s simple, almost elementary in its execution and editing, and bland. I’ve seen much worse, but this had the potential to do something original with its concept and it chose instead to take a path traveled several times in horror by others.
Rating: (2.5 out of 5):
