Erik Boomslang (Ryan Vincent) is a serial killer who visits a small American town and gets more than he bargained for in Trevor Ryan's 14-minute short film Boomslang, a darkly comical tale that is just getting its start on the indie fest circuit and should have no problem finding a long life amongst the microcinema and ultra-indie fests. 

Boomslang features a tapestry of eccentric characters from the Bateman-lite Boomslang himself to Rori Flynn's hilariously inspired Harriet, Gabriella Rivera's July, and Trisha Rae Stahl's scene-stealing, you guessed it, June. The entire ensemble cast appears to be having fun bringing Allen Osborne's all too brief script to life with kudos also going to Dominique Willingham and Kevin Teh. 

While the entire ensemble cast is game and Osborne's script is mega-promising, Boomslang feels like an assembly of parts rather than a cohesive short story. There's a really great story just dying to come out here, but strapped within the framework of a 14-minute short Boomslang just feels disconnected and, ultimately, the humor, with the exceptional of Stahl, just never really connects. 

Boomslang isn't a bad film. It's easy to recommend for its characters alone. It's just also hard not to believe that Boomslang is meant to be a much better film than what unfolds. Production credits are fine across the board including Justin Schwan's lensing and Sean Puglisi's editing work. 

With Boomslang, director Trevor Ryan again has created a film that seems destined to end up either as a feature project or episodic series with Vincent's charismatic Boomslang infinitely appealing and more than worthy of further exploration. Boomslang is the first screenplay by Osborne and it's clear that Osborne has a writer's vision for unique, vividly realized characters who desperately need more time to play than they're afforded here. While Boomslang doesn't entirely satisfy, it's an immensely promising project with so many really wonderful pieces that you can't help but root for it and hope it snags some major attention on the festival circuit. Ryan's first feature, Welcome to Willits, was based on his own short film and landed a distribution deal with indie distributor IFC. 

For more information on Boomslang, visit the film's Instagram page linked to in the credits. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic