Watch Now: Sci-fi/Horror Short WHO AMONG US presented by DUST
The sci-fi/horror short Who Among Us had been slated to screen at SXSW last weekend before the festival’s cancelation. In an effort to give a signal boost to films and filmmakers who missed out on this important event, Dread Central is thrilled to share the film by Abhishek Prasad and Rebecca Kahn. Give it a spin embedded at the top of the article.
Synopsis:
Contestant Seven unravels on a live game show where one android is hidden among humans.
Director’s Statement:
We wanted to explore how the media and groupthink can cause a person to doubt what they know to be true. Seven’s character goes through the trauma of gas-lighting, but on a public scale. Reality television specifically exploits and bends the truth in this way. We just extrapolated how that would play out in the future when bots like Siri and Alexa become nearly indistinguishable from humans. Wouldn’t there be a game show where contestants have to figure out who among them is the machine?
The fascinating part is how open we are to untested technology, especially when it’s entertaining. That can be a good thing for technologists. From firsthand experience we know that sometimes a glitch can become a feature. There is a fine line though. In the film it’s not clear whether the host is following a script, or if he’ manipulating the contestants of his own volition. Are we just a glitch away from disaster? Or are we a glitch away from a great discovery? That’s the idea behind our feature script, which examines the character’s lives in the aftermath of the game show.
What do you think of Who Among Us? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
