Last year, I had the opportunity to check out a short film written by and co-starring indie actor/writer/producer Garry MacLean. The success of that short, Yard Sale, has brought renewed attention on MacLean's first effort at writing/producing, the 2015 horror/thriller short film Divine Intervention. 

Divine Intervention stars MacLean with Christopher Heatherington in a story MacLean co-wrote with director Marc Gilani. It's a thought-provoking tale simply told centered around an obvious conflict between two men, the bound and gagged fallen priest (Heatherington) and his apparent captor, David Jones (MacLean). It's a high conflict story and the tensions are high as the story unfolds and we learn more and more about what has brought these two men together. 

It may seem obvious, but for the most part it isn't. 

Both Heatherington and MacLean perform quite ably here in capturing life-or-death stakes on both a physical and spiritual level. Our sympathies are divided throughout the film, initially with MacLean then swinging back toward Heatherington then finally just resting somewhere between these two obviously troubled souls. 

Essentially, it's the righteous path that's at debate here and you'll find room to debate the answer throughout the film and even as the closing credits are scrolling by. 

A low-budget indie, Divine Intervention at times appears to be shot in black-and-white though that's largely atmospheric and D.P. Cody Southgate's tremendous use of basement-level shadows and the inherent darkness of the setting. 

Divine Intervention is an early indicator of MacLean's ability to tell a captivating story, a gift that continues to grow and a gift that was on full display with Yard Sale. While Divine Intervention struggles with the usual microcinema challenges, most notably a hit-and-miss and occasionally tinny sound mix, it's an intriguing film that deserves the new life it's finding on the indie and microcinema fest scene. For more information on the film, visit the official Facebook page linked to in the credits. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic