Leaning | Short film review

leaning-posterLeaning (2013) is a horror short film, winner of the National Bernardino Zapponi Award (2013) for best screenplay. The film is written and directed by Salento-based director Enrico Conte, who approaches the genre for the first time with this title. In his words, Leaning stems from his love of Charles Laughton's "Death Runs on the River" (The Night of the Hunter), a 1955 film starring Robert Mitchum.

Leaning in fact is inspired by that film and takes from it situations, characters and even the song "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" to which, among other things, the title of the short in question also refers. The words "Love" and "Hate" tattooed on the knuckles of the hands of the character played by Mitchum, in Enrico Conte's film instead are engraved on the preacher's cross.
The Italian director's film takes the form of a horror reinterpretation of Charles Laughton's film in which the reverend becomes in Conte's film the cruel protagonist of a terrifying story with very peculiar twists.

leaningThe story centers on a preacher who reaches an isolated country house where a woman lives together with a teenager and a little girl a few years old. The homeowner, intent on caring for the plants in her garden, has just heard news on the radio of some heinous murders being committed in the area when a shadowy figure appears behind her back.

The arrival of the man in priestly garb is the film's strongest point along with the unexpected, awe-inspiring final part. Enrico Conte's preacher is a sinister character whose cassock amplifies his devilishness. The protagonist also exudes horror not only from his gaze but also from his appearance, bearing and finally from his actions. This disturbing figure dressed in black is at the same time full of charm and completely steals the viewer's attention from his first appearance, thanks to the extraordinary performance of actor Fabrizio Pugliese.

leaning2An unhealthy atmosphere envelops the film from the very first sequence thanks to a cinematography (Cosimo Fiore) with dark tones that cloaks the entire work with a not inconsiderable retro touch.
Leaning is a well-packaged short film that enjoys a solid story full of excellent twists and turns (especially in the finale) and effective violent sequences in which one can appreciate successful splatter effects done by Linda Hand.

Well directed and performed, Leaning also benefits from a good soundtrack (by Stefano sacchi). The film's cast includes, in addition to Fabrizio Pugliese, Alessia De Blasi and Ketty Volpe.

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Barbara Torretti
Barbara Torretti
Editor and moderator of the DarkVeins community. Passionate about horror cinema, I also do reviews and interviews pertaining to the film, music and art circuit.

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