Written, directed, and produced by Sam and David Cutler-Kreutz, Trapped follows a high school janitor named Joaquin (Javier Molina) as he makes his rounds for the evening. Without anyone to watch his son, he’s stuck having to clean the school while keeping his son occupied. Not long after finding a rhythm balancing work and play, he finds himself thrust into a situation that could potentially ruin his life.
The film made its world premiere last year at SXSW, where it competed in the Narrative Shorts category and won the Special Jury Prize. After wins at Palm Springs ShortFest and HollyShorts, the film has landed on the path to Academy Award consideration.
Joaquin runs into a handful of obstacles during one fateful night shift. The first being his son having to stay on-site with him while cleaning an entire school. The second comes in the form of troublesome teenagers appearing in the gym. In the middle of executing a senior prank, one student among the group pushes back when asked to leave. Trying to reach a middle ground, he essentially buys Joaquin’s silence, costing him his character and pride. Outwitting the smart aleck teens, they unknowingly trapped themselves in a corner of the gym where the doors are locked.
Trapped is a film that explores the definition of its title. When speaking of ‘the prevention of (someone) from escaping from a place’ falls in line with the boys in the gym, his son not leaving his presence, and not letting word get out of his responsibility behind those students’ seclusion. The dark drama in this 15-minute short presents itself organically for a blood-boiling, edge-of-your-seat experience. Initially, Joaquin’s sanity and his son’s safety were at risk. After five or so minutes, their overall safety and Joaquin’s job have been put in jeopardy.
After one of the entitled, smart-aleck students calls their father, the pendulum swung back in their favor. They offered money for Joaquin’s silence, then he tricked them into trapping themselves in the gym, but once the situation was out of their control, they went to their parents, who then called the Head of the School (Keith William Richards). Joaquin’s character was already tarnished in front of his son, and now, he’s at risk of losing his job. All of this drama and battle for control in less than 15 minutes. Excellent.
The cast is rounded out by Matt Woodward, Ethan Jones, Aedan Jayce, Joel Meyers, Luke Cawley, and Kamron Toosi.
Trapped gets a 9.5 out of 10. This could very easily be the start of a series or a feature film. The writing was solid and the acting was perfect. It didn’t feel like a “short”, but more like an episode from an award-winning series that was cut short. This didn’t win festival acclaim without good reason. This is by far one of the best shorts I’ve seen this year. Here’s to awards season.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of London Flair PR
Genre: Drama/Short
Rating: Unrated
Runtime: 15 mins
Trailer: N/A
U.S. Release Date: March 9, 2024