Slow Burn is a 20-minute hard-hitting drama co-written and directed by Michael McCallum about a young girl forced into prostitution by two local wannabe thugs raising cash to pay off some debts. Her sister is a struggling waitress constantly pursued by a shady cop who doesn't take no for an answer. The girls decide to set up the cop against the thugs in an effort to help the two of them leave town.

Filmed in black-and-white by D.P. Anthony E. Griffin, who also co-wrote the script with McCallum, Slow Burn is an intelligent and involving short film with solid performances across the ensemble cast including McCallum, Canaan Vedas Bey, David G.B. Brown, Kayla Dewitt and others. While the film isn't quite as hard-hitting as one might expect, McCallum clearly has a terrific sense of pacing and avoided creating too much drama within the film's modest running time.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic