A graduating Biola University student studying Cinema and Media Arts, Incoming! writer/director Ryan Printz has crafted quite the funny short with the 13-minute Incoming!, the story of a rookie forest ranger who gets left alone in a fire watchtower and ends up getting a whole lot more than he bargained for when a mysterious visitor announces plans to abduct the forest's wildlife.

Admit it. You laughed.

It's a weird concept that works wonderfully, more than a little bit owing to to Alex Moore's endearing performance as Mitch, a nervous newbie who is never quite sure what to do with his unexpected visitor but is absolutely certain he's going to do his job. Printz weaves together elements of sci-fi and even a little bit of horror into this 13-minute short film that will be screening at the upcoming Seattle International Film Festival later this month and has already captured prizes at the On The Edge Film Festival, where it snagged the Audience Choice Award, and the Biola Film Festival, where it picked up the prizes for Best VFX and Best Cinematography. Indeed, Taylor Hunt's lensing for the film is stellar as is Megan Mead's top notch production design and Brian Harmon's editorial work.

Travis Lee Eller is terrific as Dale, a more experienced park ranger tasked with working alongside Mitch, while vocal work from David Kang and Jeff Adams adds nicely to the film's subtle yet consistent humor.

Incoming! is the kind of short film that plays well at film festivals, a unique idea pulled off with an abundance of humor and just a twinge of heart. For more information on Ryan Printz, visit the filmmaker's website linked in the credits for this review.

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic