Sep 302003
 
Directed & Written by: Mike Williamson.  Produced by: Terry Dougas, Michael Feifer.  25 min

Think of a campfire horror tale.  A really, really good one.  The type you heard as a child, huddled closely with two or three friends on a cool October night.  The kind that frightened you in all the ways that are good to be frightened.  Now, put it on 35mm film, with beautiful cinematography, FX beyond anything you’ve seen in a short film, and a score by Richard Band, and you have The Silvergleam Whistle.

As it starts, you can almost hear a friend, or your father, or a scout leader, leaning into the red glow, and speaking low so that his voice is almost lost in the crackling of burning wood, saying: “A mother (Deborah Flora) and her two children (Tierra Abbott, Trevor Robertson) stop one night at an empty, out of the way inn.”  Of course no one does say it; you see it.  They meet the manager (Patricia McCormack, who played the evil child in both the stage and screen adaptations of The Bad Seed in the 1950s), a pleasant but unhealthy-looking woman who gives them some rooms on the cheap.  When asked about a picture of a man, she picks up the banner of campfire spooky-story teller (OK, so it’s not much of a title), and recites the at-first sad, and then creepy story of how her son died forty years ago.  The train he ran was struck by lightning, killing all on board, but when the authorities came back in the morning, the entire train was missing.  Naturally, it’s time for the children to go to sleep, and just as naturally, they hear the far off whistle of a train.

Damn, that’s good stuff, and crafted so excellently it should have you listening for a train in the distance.  It’s a joy to look at, with rich colors, crisp lines, and deep shadows.  The sound is as expertly done, and heightens the fear factor with sudden booming crashes.  The acting is also first rate from everyone involved, but McCormack is particularly impressive.

Every element falls into place, creating an effective and enjoyable shiver-fest that should be Mike Williamson’s ticket to Hollywood.  So gather round the fire.  It’s time for a little story.