Sci-Fi Short Film "Thalamos" | DUST

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Commander Charlie Shaw finds himself alone on the red planet and isolated from his crew. He uncovers some disturbing truths about his situation and the fate of the mission.
"Thalamos" by Andrew Jaksch & Scott Robson
#SciFi #DUST #ShortFilm
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[@bryankirk3567]

I am soooo happy I wasn't the only one to be completely bewildered.

[@scanfilms1267]

Hi all. This is Scotty and Andy here, the makers of Thalamos. Wow, we suspected it would be a polarising film. We never expected to be on such a large stage and would like to thank Dust for hosting our little film. Dust have built a great audience by supporting short filmmakers of all persuasions. Keep it up. It's fun seeing all the love and hate, keep the comments coming. We're especially enjoying those who are trying to work out our jigsaw puzzle. This was our first film, made in our garage on a shoestring budget. Everything is hand made and practically shot. We had so much fun making this. Thanks for watching...100K views, woohoo.

[@sonofabinch]

What was that song at the beginning?

[@scanfilms1267]

@@sonofabinch Hearts and Rockets - Anywhere but here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaDTfqOomL58gc0

[@juliaconnell]

Thanks guys - and all on loved - lot of hate in the comments - so sending you some LOVE - unlike some on Dust this had plot, intriguing yet understandable - look how crazy people are going locked up in own homes with covid19 for just a couple of months - 18 months in a tin can with 5 others in very stressful and dangerous environment - I'd go crazy too! Really nice work - look forward to seeing more

[@juliaconnell]

*all involved!

[@RabidWookies]

Definitely a mind-trip, but one I liked! Damn space-madness gets ya every time! Were the character names "Ransom" and "Weston" and the fact that they were on a spacecraft orbiting Mars in reference to the book "Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis?

[@ipytho]

For you guys that don't know, the name of the movie Thalamos (Θάλαμος) means Chamber in Greek

[@jimjimellell]

This is why I always read the comments before watching. Thank you, brave souls, for the warning.

[@yogsogg0th]

Despite of the negative comments, I felt "something" after watching first and then watched again. No wonder it won some awards. The acting is quite good, especially the airlock scene i liked. The set is decent, if we consider the ship is in the director's garage. Well It is not that easy to make sense of the events, but the script is rational and valid. No wonder the "fast consumer" audience failed to understand... But I consider this as an excellent first film!

[@Shortsircut1]

This was so broken up I really have no idea what was going on or why, and the sound was only 20% understandable. The effects were awesome and the filmography spectacular, but sadly nothing made much sense, making this short mostly unwatchable.

[@brucethompson7214]

You took the words out of my mouth! With this standard of production values i was expecting something special. The sound glitches i could deal with but the story made no sense. Or rather there was story? Such a waste of potential!

[@marcels9111]

Its because thay make there movies very quick and make up shit

[@lilsammich8252]

All I have to say about this movie is wha wha wah wa. Wha wha wa wah wha wa.

[@Ethank33]

Turn on subtitles

[@christianyoungblood9415]

well, I agree nothing makes much sense, but I think that is kinda the point. Madness and psychosis make no sense for those experiencing it. I believe it is that fragmented state of mind that this film attempts to express

[@fieldagent59isintheforest32]

commander got turned into a REEVER, intense and good production values....

[@fredflintstone9657]

Firefly!

[@jeffm8423]

Yeah!!!

[@paulrhodeman8276]

“We have you in the pipe, 5 by 5” Love the Aliens reference!!!!!

[@rage4me]

So many movies could be this short if the supporting actors just made the right call in the beginning. Love you Dust. Cheers

[@Netsmile]

The team working on props and visuals receives my respect for working with everyone else with so much less talent, including actors, writers, editors.

[@brianreal1083]

That song is by Hearts and Rockets. It's called "Anywhere but here." Took me a bit to figure that one out.

[@DystrophicEvolution]

Thank you so much! I just saw the short story collection named Termination on Tubi and that song had me hooked in a single minute!

[@michaellovettchina]

Wow! Nice location shots! Hats off to the cinematographer.

[@oliviaaybar4602]

At the beginning I thought De Clerk was the crazy one, but at the end he was the rational one for the survival in such conditions.

[@durasaxon5131]

The Commander Shaw is / was Looney tunes. There was no way to: sedate, control or restrain him. The decision of the Assistant Commander was most difficult. Unfortunately, The entire rmission Difficulty Quotient was impacted by Cmdr. Shaw This was riveting. Bravo to the entire: Cast, Crew and Production Teams

[@adamhuman6201]

I am not sure why people dislike these high quality movies, made with seriousness, hard work and a lot of other types of investments. if you do not like it, why watch? its just painful to see someone work hard and then someone who does not understand what it takes, dislikes it. Learn to love or at least ignore. To the people who make movies for DUST, you are doing a good job and keep up the good work, your movies may give new ideas to the future filmmakers.

[@car0ndelet]

Had some promise, but the choppy editing, roughly mixed sound, and lack of a coherent plot killed what was there. Space madness is an underused trope. Would have been more interesting to see that developed more.

[@Briefguyy]

space madness is underused? Hope you were being sarcastic because filmakers big and small and have been using it forever and its tiring.

[@sparkynm156]

WHut dO u MEEE ? eeen Ouy no mak E SeNSe good sHoW grate

[@psychonaut1829]

You have all these actors, and a set, and you didnt even spend 5 minutes on the story🤔

[@THamm-xt8jm]

I was watching a show on Netflix called Nightflyers that was all about people losing their sanity. It’s not that good though

[@sparkynm156]

@@THamm-xt8jm Altered Carbon season 2 comes out tomorrow....

[@SaschaVIE]

Please! Stop testing drugs on script-writers.

[@Talia.777]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😆😆😆😆😆

[@subhamburnwal9127]

I think this is yet another horribly mixed up script that came out of one of those programs, ones which are feeded lots of scripts and then asked to generate a new one out of them.

[@TheGreenNewSteal2025]

Sascha Vogt you’re right. It was gibberish.

[@jtoombs56]

Simple mistake... they accidentally ran the entire thing backwards.

[@capivara9130]

at least test drugs that give us best endings!

[@alexlisa790]

I don't know what's so hard to understand, people are whining about a pretty obvious story but if you want my interpretation on what I feel is pretty obvious, then Spoilers: The dream sequences on Mars are of some commander who is in a dream under a deliberately induced coma. His crew sucessfully subdued him after he went batshit crazy and ate another crew member. Possibly some kind of space sickness causes some people, for reasons unknown, to lose their damn minds or something like that. See sea sickness or cabin fever or Wendigo syndrome and you get some idea.

[@koriw1701]

I found the film very well done. Wonderful acting, especially by Tom Farrah. If you truly made this film inside a garage, hats off to you! I found the set decoration positively believable. The direction was intense, the dream sequences brilliant. I'm not going to give you crap about the color of the desert because it was supposed to be Shaw's mind wandering in and out of sedation, so the interior of a deranged man's mind does not require explanation. However, I will agree that the sound was sadly, quite poor, requiring me to use the closed captions as others have reported. Especially muddy was the dream sequence, speech being nearly subaudible, the comm chatter completely blocked out, while the dialogue was drowned out by the background foley work during the emergency alerts, (as awesome as it was!) which had the gain set far too high. But other than the sound needing a re-edit, the entire production was genius. (Don't believe the whiners looking for "Shaw's motivation." 18 months in space could open up many variables in a person's head)

[@heatherwanderer777]

Idk what everyone is complaining about. Its not disjointed or pieced together half assed, its done that way deliberately to mimic his descent into madness, his inability to tell reality from his mind playing tricks. Its all done very well to show mental illness and the harsh decisions that may have to be made in the future. Consider they brought enough supplies, food, and medicine ect for 18 months for 6 people but did they bring enough to sedate, medicate, give IVs, and treat this man for 10 more months (however long it took before he went mad)? Can they dedicate the manpower of 24/7 hour time and care needed to this one person while missing key parts of a multi part multi person mission, where maintenance being missed can mean a critical failure on a station? Can they guarantee that he won't escape his restraints and be an instant threat to everyone including the station itself? No they can't. I'm surprised they just didn't euthanize him via overdose, but then again that wouldn't have been as dramatic or suspenseful.

[@Reziac]

What you said. Tho I'd critique it thus: The low-impact parts went on too long, and diluted the story. It tried to be a bit too terse with we're shown, but achieved difficult to follow (per many comments). The sound quality is all over the place, sometimes hard to understand dialog. However, the acting is good and the visuals are effective, and the ethical dilemma is dead on. -- I take it he's in the airlock because he escaped sickbay and ran off at random, and eventually they got lucky and caught him in the dead end made by the airlock.

[@Crunky6]

Dead on....

[@doncristiano7904]

So, what's the point? Lacks a bit of a story in my opinion....

[@HumbelPie]

@Paddy Hickman get a life paddy lol did u make this film? Haha funny

[@benrussell-gough1201]

You're possibly a year from home, let alone any meaningful assistance. One of your tiny group has had a psychotic episode and has become uncontrollably homicidal. How do you respond? Also, just what might it be like to be that psychotic from the inside of their head?

[@doncristiano7904]

@Paddy Hickman Reading your comment I assume you're from Vulgaria? I don't like this paticular short, no need to get rude.

[@doncristiano7904]

@@benrussell-gough1201 thank you for your answer. I' ve got this also so far. But ... the one finally pushing the airlocks button also seemed a bit psychotic to me, not only due to the situation with Shaw

[@benrussell-gough1201]

@@doncristiano7904 Yeah, de Klerk was definitely a bit autistic, wasn't he? Very strongly unemotional and detached. He clearly had problems understanding social interactions outside of rigid 'job' interactions. A lot of real life astronauts are a bit like that too. I think that the selection process strongly favours those who can turn off 'human' in favour of 'do the job'.

[@nicoleswan3053]

This was very well put together and absolutely needs to be made into a full film. Well done!

[@pauladams1211]

It has been. The movie is called Termination and this is the beginning

[@nicoleswan3053]

@@pauladams1211 thanks!

[@Sigwen]

I appreciated the nod to "Out of the Silent Planet" in the character names: Weston and Ransom are main characters in that book, and the author is C. Staples Lewis. Plot wise, traveling to Mars was the only similarity I noticed.

[@browntigerus]

Spectacular filmography , messy story.

[@benrussell-gough1201]

IMO, de Klerk made the right call. At a minimum of six months from home, they had no way of determining what had happened to Shaw and even less ability to treat him. Was it mental? Was it some pathogen he'd brought up from Mars? All that mattered is that he was violent, homicidal and had shown the willingness to disable critical ship systems such as communications and even seriously injure himself to get what he wanted. It was brutally clear that it was impossible to keep him secured. Charlie Shaw would have put the survival of his crew above all other objectives. They had run out of other options. Euthanising him was the only remaining option that had a high probability of saving the surviving crew. Frankly, Weston and de Klerk owed that to their commander and to their colleague. Ransome was, as de Klerk pointed out, was too close to the situation to be able to detach herself from her emotions enough to see that. Does it stink to high heaven? Yes, but it is also very likely the only viable option left open to them.

[@milliefusion7340]

So every time she sedated him, he was dreaming he was on the planet by himself? So what prompted him to attack and eat his crew member? I think I need to go back and watch again. Anybody have any ideas on what happened to make him so violent? And why did it only affect him and not the others?

[@arnoldsherrill6305]

Doing a movie about isolation on a distant planet? Mark Watney: hold my beer let me show you how it's really done

[@HumbelPie]

@Paddy Hickman jesus wtf paddy

[@TheAzynder]

@Wuan the ??? He's just a troll and not a very good one.

[@arnoldsherrill6305]

The mark Watney reference comes from the Martian both the book and the movie and I was making reference to the difference between the two films I was not making a personal attack but apparently someone thought I was

[@HumbelPie]

@Paddy Hickman I did read them and maybe one seemed a little bit if troll but some the other I guessed were honest critique. I get it though. Everyone is a expert until they try something there self then they need a expert to advise. Im amazed at most the short films. So I am on your side. If someone is going lie about there opinion and just be negative. Then how horrible. These guys work hard I'm sure making these mostly all very entertaining and to me free film. In closing . Constructive criticism is good but those that are being pricks and dishonest now know how we feel about them haha

[@bryankirk3567]

More Marks please!

[@biglakejudy]

Even me, who can make sense of almost anything, was lost on this one. I was jumping around from person to person trying to piece together a cohesive story line. Couldn't. Totally sad because it really had great promise.

[@takiyaazrin7562]

Yup. The flashbacks made me confuse does Shaw gets revenge on all of them or is he flushed into space?

[@yajlemag1]

This is too wonderfully emotional, and we all love emotional films, full of love and hate and anger and violence and EMOTION everywhere in almost every scene, imaginary or not a fell and full descent into madness and terror far away with wonderful emotional icons like Mars and space and the immense big scary unknown which is a great backdrop for very EMOTIONAL scenes. Deserves an Oscar at least for all those emotional scenes. She's just brilliant as a what? engineer, scientist, part of a Dee-space crew is so wonderfully EMOTIONAL about all her decisions. Soo naturally feminine. And that wonderful macho captain, so angry and a cannibal and frightening, except to her, of course because she loves him and could certainly tame those violent emotions with her feminine love and big EMOTIONAL center. Can't tell you how much I love all the emotions yanked out here. Makes for a fine fine film, so deserving of everybody's time and attention and awards and stuff. MORE MORE MORE.

[@douglasheld]

I like it. It took two watches to size up the story. The director for sure is not handing us the plot in a spoon! Nobody ever went to the surface. That is why the details in the desert are so unrealistic. The desert scene is the commander's experience of his own psychosis; after he murdered and tried to eat his crew member with the beard. Toward the end, he can hear the voices of the crew looking after him as he drifts out of sedation. In fact, the "floating paint" transitions I think might be the boundaries of the commander's psychosis view. Although it fits together and it is interesting, this plot is sort of missing a "middle" as well as an "end"....

[@DrRonArt]

Very well said, makes good sense. We don't know why Shaw cracked, but he did, and attacked Staples, after escaping from the infirmary. The Mars landscape is a metaphor for his psychosis. Totally isolated in that landscape, it's Shaw's experience of being inside thalamos (i.e. airlock chamber). Thalamos also refers to thalamus, which is a structure in the brain that relays sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex. There are two or three neural images in the film, that probably speak to what's going on in his brain. There's a terrible short-circuit there.

[@shawnerz98]

Thanks for explaining things.

[@introsig7696]

Thanks, I was trying to make sense of the short. I knew his walk in Mars was part of his hallucination. Superb design and customs.

[@Klm49]

Oh wow, thanks to those of you who explained what was going on! We were so lost and watching after many days of sleep deprivation- hooray toddlers. So we didn't get any of it except that in the end they spaced him for trying to eat someone. We really, really appreciate the explainations and details about how it connects to neuroscience!!!

[@michaelgranger7113]

Ditto on the incomprehensible dialogue.

[@Farmboy1544]

18:11 That's me thinking about the plot of this short film.

[@tomfarrah6574]

😂👌🏻

[@markjeppo]

A cross between The Shining and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Great visual aesthetic, many of the shots are well composed and beautifully lit. Acting is superb too. So good to see thoughtful, challenging sci-fi like this. My only criticism is the sound. So much of the dialogue is unintelligible, I had to switch on subtitles. Or maybe that's the influence of Christopher Nolan? ;) Whatever, you have made a great short and will go on to greater things no doubt!

[@ilovetomorrow]

Aussies and outer space? Wow, This is really futuristic. I liked it.

[@Borvo1]

WOW ! That was truly terrible! - - - the first time I have said that about any short film on DUST.

[@KatorNia]

Um guys? I think you forgot to include some of the takes in editing. All you have now is "guy goes crazy, eats another guy's nipple, & the remaining guys space him to protect their nipples". - "I hope you've packed your sense of humor..." I'm assuming you're trying to show one guy being "fun" & the other guy being "uptight"? Why? What does this scene have to do with anything? Did their personalities affect the plot in any way? Nope. - "Her relationship has compromised our safety." How? What did she do? You never showed us. - Guy walks in a desert... Is this supposed to be on Mars? Were you trying to "trick us" into thinking for a minute "oh wait, what's happening, he's breathing Mars air"? Why would we think that? You never mentioned a ground mission. For all we know, which turned out to be true, the guy was hallucinating. I mean, I can see (I think?) what you had in mind & what you tried to do there, but the implementation was poor. A little less desert-walking & a couple more character-developing scenes & you could have had a little gem there, in an already visually-pleasing short. _I'm just your average YT user & a Sci-Fi fan. I'm in no way a movie "expert", other than having watched thousands of short & full movies._ _Those were just my €0.02, make of that what you will._

[@EduardoSilvaLopez]

"the remaining guys space him to protect their nipples" - LOL!!

[@KatorNia]

@@buckcheep You addressed none of my (valid imho) points, but instead you kinda attacked me personally. Why, what's the point? Do you think that others will think more of this short after reading your comment? Or do you really think I give a 💩 about a random online guy's opinion on my "armchair critiquing prowess"? Also, my comment was clearly meant for the creators, anyone with "half a brain" & basic linguistic skills can see that. So, what urged you to reply, especially in that fashion (=half insults, half barren repeating of what we all watched ourselves anyway)? Are you part of the production team? If that's the case, then your reply is unprofessional to say the least. Or are you just a fellow "armchair critic"? (Aaww, you thought that you're above the rest of us "armchair critics", & thus that term doesn't apply to you?) If that's the case, then go show off your "superior intellect" somewhere else, nobody cares here (certainly not me).

[@grey_mouse]

Before reading the comments I thought I missed something because this movie didn’t make too much sense. Your comment is right on spot.

[@MoxyFoxtrot]

what *I* don't understand is why no one likes this? I thought it was great :/ Great title, I can imagine that those severed wires he 'found' (and him not being able to communicate in any way) was some part of his own consciousness 'realizing' his thalamus was 'disconnected'. Complaints people are making involve no backstory? What's needed? They went up into space, and the commander went insane. He killed a crewmate. The 'ground' mission was him undersedation, realizing issues, acting without rest, and then his body betraying him. He never went to the surface. Why is that confusing. These sort of films are my favorite. The realization of OH SHIT is where I like my sci-fi, not just evil robots and alien takeovers. Eh, to each his own I guess.

[@bricolleen7956]

This was genuinely AWFUL. Especially in a genre of successful films on the same premise.

[@joustingdude]

It all *looked* really great, but the story was disjointed and weak and some of that acting was laughable. It just felt... incomplete and odd.

[@ninjabearpress2574]

They blew their budget on sets and props, and had nothing left for a decent script.

[@shortypenguin]

Go ahead, eject him from the airlock. I was given no reason to like him and every reason to dislike him (including having to watch him walk through a desert for almost half the film).

[@dtb369]

Moses

[@wadepage7809]

Another one that COULD've been good, but fell short.

[@thewalkindude7716]

Nope. I want my 21 minutes back.

[@fredflintstone9657]

Too late....

[@ilybyg]

I am not understand, whys he ca breathe on a fking mars?

[@auroralshine6176]

@@basedbear1605 because they are not as cleaver as you.. why don't you claim all the hardest education degrees available? People may not understand some points, but they are not dumb bro .

[@keithnaylor1981]

Beautiful to look at, good performances, completely baffling!

[@terrykosowick594]

Whatever other great things you have in a short sci-fi video (great cinematography, effects, etc.), the one thing that makes or breaks the video is a good story. This video doesn't have it.

[@Леон-м3э]

Эти короткометражные фильмы что-то нереальное, кто их снимает, просто круто Музыка, звуки, сценарий, постановка просто КРУТО!!!👍👍👍 Ридли Скотт и товарищи, отдыхают😁

[@sg1dude]

You guys have got to post videos with a coherent plot and plausible explanations. I've been a sci fi fan for 60 years. The star of science fiction is the science and tech. Just giving us tech without a good scientific explanation is not enough. Did he succumb to the effects of isolation, radiation, claustrophobia? We just don't know. Sadly that sums up most of the Dust videos, not knowing what the heck is going on.

[@xingxingmunsee6319]

there were a lot of things left unexplained. i think it needs a part 2.

[@fredflintstone9657]

I think it needs a part one...🙄

[@xingxingmunsee6319]

@@fredflintstone9657 hahaha... i think you're right.

[@dudedeman]

This is what happens when you cram a two hour movie into a 20 min clip, when you don't know what you are doing.

[@janhorak8024]

Sci-fi short - comments by Jan Beware of spoilers! Thalamos by Andrew Jaksch & Scott Robson Plot: space crew deals with critical situation of a member with violent mental break. Part of story is probably just him dreaming and is a little bit confusing. Personally I would like to see more of the start of mental problems and then mainly more of the last scenes about the airlock (decisions leading to it and then the dialogue). What about he would agree at the end? Less of dreaming and less of flashbacks would be better. Negatives: 1) flashback moody scenes with a couple - I do not like these, they are usually just clichés and empty and they definitely do not serve much here to storytelling; 2) the dreaming part is really confusing (helped me to see it more times and also comments pf other viewers…); 3) majority of characters were not developed and used Positives: 1) setting; 2) camera; 3) music at the end Personal note: Shatnerian school of acting? Hell YEAH! Summary: Not great not terrible short, with interesting plot ideas, which I would love to see more of them, instead of some unnecessary scenes

[@ian-c.01]

A big budget will not improve a terrible story ! Also with that kind of budget you could have used some more on the sound production, it might sound OK on headphones while you are editing but sounds awful through a reasonably powerful sound system.

[@guyver214]

He went nuts in the borderline isolation, and they killed him to protect the others. The mars scenes were in his messed up mind.

[@jhgpsimons]

Sorry, didn't like it. lacks a story No good scene changes too much irritating noises

[@paulelliott3220]

Some beautiful shots of the red planet and the ship orbiting Atmosphere maybe needs a little more ochre from the dust and the planet is pretty cold too but nicely done Nice

[@E.Wolfdale]

Mars has no atmosphere or magnetosphere. This is a dead planet.

[@paulelliott3220]

Rzeczpospolita Międzygwiezdna Agreed I was being polite as they didn’t colour the sky correctly and the temperature is far colder than it looked The planet is plagued by fierce winds and there is more stone than the desert they chose to film on Liked the orbiting shots though

[@E.Wolfdale]

@@paulelliott3220 You're right, this Mars is too much earthly. Same thee story could have been better.

[@johnkeck]

They could've simply used a filter on the camera to color the sand. Or some post-production effects?

[@eyecomeinpeace2707]

@@E.Wolfdale Not a breathable atmosphere. Very thin. I agree the sky could've looked more pinkier, and the ground rockier, but the solar wind directly interacts with the atmosphere of Mars, leading to the formation of a magnetosphere from magnetic field tubes. I would not call Mars completely dead though. What about the sandstorms, and dust devils? There is some activity at least. But so far, not biological life

[@SkoobySkeptic]

I read the comments and saw the less than great, likes vs dislikes numbers, but watched it anyway. Having watched it, I deserve to be in that airlock with him.

[@RabidWookies]

Did anybody else wonder if "Ransom" and "Weston" orbiting Mars was in reference to "Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis?

[@nonameishere7234]

Those space healmets !! I cant understand a word they're saying

[@robertanderson6929]

THIS! The rest of the production value was top rate. The music and ambient sounds were good. But I found myself turning the volume up and going back whenever someone spoke over the radio then having to turn the volume back down to avoid having my eardrums broken. Please take this criticism favorably.

[@siborg5453]

charlie brown thas kinda da point

[@benrussell-gough1201]

This is a common problem in sci-fi films. How do you properly record dialogue when the characters are in EVA suits? Peter Hyams handled it best in 2010 - The Year We Make Contact. Actually have live communications headsets in the costumes and record the dialogue that way.

[@electronic9000]

I lost something too, I lost 21 minutes of my life and I want them back

[@fredflintstone9657]

Too late....they're gone.

[@yevgeniyaleshchenko849]

@@fredflintstone9657 Ok Captain Obvious, you can go rest now

[@fredflintstone9657]

@@yevgeniyaleshchenko849 I'm....kinda tired. Think I'll go home, now....

[@elfentrol]

The orbital station looks like the "Pilgrim Observer" from MPC models. Nice!

[@kuehnewall9595]

"...in the pipe, 5x5" - timeless.

[@olibee1420]

If you were expecting the plot to be gifted to you on a silver platter, think again. I believe that the writers of this short intended for the viewers to find the plot themselves. Ok, hear me out. Think about it - if you stitch all of the clips together you get an amazing, perfect plot. The captain of the ship and a girl that I believe was close to him, as well as three others were chosen to go on a mission to research Mars on a station orbiting the planetoid. The captain obviously didn’t complete some form of emotional stress training and developed some form of anger/stress related space madness and apparently murdered someone named “staples” or whatever his name was (sorry, I’m bad with names and I’m writing this on a whim). Under the woman’s influence, they sedated him instead of terminating him, unknowingly causing him to experience a nightmare that was influenced by all of the trauma his own brain influenced upon himself - that’s what the entire first half of the film more than likely represented. Bits and pieces of his own memory being flashed in his dreams - that is, until he wakes up. Notice how the short suddenly becomes less clipped? Yeah, that’s what the entire short was like from a normal cinematic experience would look like. And, I don’t know if you know this, but when facing a stressful situation - like the lady was - time flashes a lot. Or, at least to me it does. You spend a lot of time in your head but barely retain much information due to how stressed you are. And then the story goes on from there. This short is displayed in a format that is relative to psychics and how the mind retains and stores memories regarding their level of importance. The importance is determined by how much emotional strain is put on someone. Usually, they’re bad ones because bad emotions cause a higher level of emotional strain. That’s why some people believe that their childhood was mostly awful, because they remembered more bad memories rather than good ones. Sorry, if I’m contradicting some of your opinions, it’s just that I recognized what the creators of the story were going for. And as for the acting, I believe that it was spot on. Put yourself into the perspective of the people on the ship and in the captain’s place. Everyone is stressed and want the situation to be over with, so eventually they snap when they realize that there is no easy solution to their problem. Their facial expressions are mostly neutral when they murder the captain because, well, who would be smiling or crying about this? Sure, they’re getting rid of their problem, but not in the most sane of ways - and they know this! Sorry if I’m offending anyone, just wanted to input my opinion and raise the awareness of a possible circumstance.

[@41divad]

And as always, when comm connection is lost, firmer louder speaking will re-establish it 😅 Thanks for this

[@wendysugg1199]

Firstly, it's so good seeing and hearing Australian content out there in sci-fi land, so kudos 😊 I enjoyed the film a lot, it raised many interesting and valid points surrounding space life and only those in the situation will be able to deal with. And if this is what you write and produce in a garage with no money, then I am very keen to see where to from here.

[@cthulhufhtagn2483]

Sorry, man. Even if you're vomiting blood, don't take your helmet off on Mars unless you want your eyes to boil away. Edit: Even if he's dreaming, he would still know that.

[@jayarava]

He was hallucinating... he never went to the surface. None of them did.

[@cthulhufhtagn2483]

@@jayarava Right. But he's an astronaut. Stuff like this should be so ingrained in his mind that even his subconscious knows them.

[@petergorelov418]

Not in the case when he suspects that it's still Earth. Mind the gravity, by the way. It's definitely not a Martian one as well.

[@cthulhufhtagn2483]

@@petergorelov418 I saw that, I thought it was just a low budget. It didn't occur to me that it was still the Earth,

[@petergorelov5045]

@@cthulhufhtagn2483 He was, but in his hallucination. In reality he was on the station all the time

[@PaulSmith-pf2uq]

Not for a minute I was convinced these people were in Space or on Mars. The commander did not seem to know that the gravity on Mars is different than that of Earth so he was walking like he was at the Sahara. Not good enough.

[@tomfarrah6574]

The commander was convinced he was there too. But he never actually made it to the surface of Mars

[@mindscraftsman]

Fantastische Bilder, fantastischer Film. Steht den „Großen “ in nichts nach. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏

[@lunatom3]

Beautiful images but could only hear 1 out of every handful of words, maybe. Sound was mixed weird.

[@F3Y3F3]

Just watched it on the home theater system in digital sound. it was excellently and creatively mixed for that venue. I can see how it'd be totally horrid on a soundbar or computer speakers. Other than that it was pretty awful.

[@nicoleswan3053]

I really don't understand... usually when I read the comments of some half assed attempt at a short film, all I see is praise. And yet! I see a wonderfully put together short that makes me want more, such as this one, and the comments are all bashing. I don't get it. Maybe I'm oldschool now, idk. I don't get it.

[@ninjabearpress2574]

I was left wanting more, like an explanation for how such a carefully selected, well trained, disciplined astronaut goes bonkers and turns cannibal.

[@phoule76]

it was unclear and jumpy. not wonderfully put together at all

[@nicoleswan3053]

@@phoule76 to each their own I suppose... I just couldn't understand the disparity in comment/content when I made this comment. I like to be made to think and wonder when I'm seeking entertainment but I realize that others like different things... In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this short :)

[@martinduner1844]

This reminds me quite a bit of a story i tried to write as a teenager back in the late 70:s. I never managed to end it properly though.

[@Dinkum_Aussie]

Cool! By Scan Films Australia! I like our new up and coming talent ! Thank you DUST for bringing this to us! 😎👍

[@james5460]

i like it. It's different. I like a different approach. Could it be improved? Absolutely. But it's a worthwhile take on how humanity could interfere with the clean, crisp environment that is so ubiquitous in sci fi. Life is messy, so is this short, and that's AOK with me.

[@Marie-db3gg]

He lost his mind and she lost him ... but at least the weather looks great on Mars! TY!!

[@robertredditt7973]

Top movie, starts out slow but ends with a bang. Great acting and amazing story. Need more like this one. oops, sorry, was commenting on a commercial, never mind.

[@Crunky6]

This film was made by a couple of first time filmmakers in their garage. Not a bad effort for home made low budget.

[@jobisselle2861]

For a first effort made in a garage this little film is fantastic....he's an android! Ending a little abrupt but bravo!

[@friedtomatoes4946]

Loved the 2001 ascetic

[@benrussell-gough1201]

Did you notice that they used parts of the 2001 original soundtrack?

[@yurachunt3179]

I actually liked this, but I agree it's a little wonky. The acting's great; the writing (if it weren't cut so much) is decent; the story's simple but a fantastic idea... just another "short" that was *too* short.

[@DrRonArt]

This is such an intriguing film. It makes me think of a host of classic sci-fi films, from Space Odyssey to Interstellar, but most of all Solaris. But even though 21 minutes is relatively long for a short film, this one is way too compressed. Thalamos requires a full-length treatment, so there's room to develop the plot and characters and to elaborate on the romance between Shaw and Ransom. There's something in their relationship that bears on his psychosis. By the way, great acting on the part of the lead actor, especially while he's in the airlock chamber!

[@scottcupp8129]

I completely agree!

[@Hyper5nic]

Fantastic short film. This is one of a few great short films that really shook me up! Great acting, editing, visuals and effects! Amazing how you got this much story, mystery and action in this short space! Well done!

[@danielandrews8858]

At near the half-way point of the film the astronaut gets a "Mission Critical" warning on his arm band. The warning was correct, the mission is critical, because if the person watching this flick hasn't bailed from the show, now is the time in order to avoid wasting any further effort to try and understand, listen, or figure out what the hell is going on.

[@laughtoohard9655]

The Commander said, "Tell me what the fuck is going on"? I'm saying the exact same thing.

[@scottcupp8129]

Wow. This one was intense! Great acting and screenplay and plot. Great indeed!

[@bgsound2721]

Weston looks just like John boy on the Waltons. But seriously, this is a film about cabin fever, mental illness or oxygen deprivation. The acting, locations, custom built sets, CGI, actors, filming techniques, lighting, music... all beautifully/skillfully done. Editing...sketchy

[@manikjana6708]

Hay your shrot movie is very interesting i am regularly watch these videos.

[@cthulhufhtagn2483]

Not bad at all! Space madness isn't a topic we see addressed often enough in sci-fi. This was very good.

[@maviarab]

It's been done a thousand times.

[@cthulhufhtagn2483]

@@maviarab Oh. Well, it's not one I've seen addressed often enough.

[@Borvo1]

Switching between the guy on the ground (7:00) where he is under complete cloud cover and the shots from space where there are no clouds at all was rather jarring!

[@willyeverlearn7052]

Kind of a wild ride.

[@michaeldiamond2605]

Another one bites the DUST.

[@robertherd9921]

I have to admit that I loved it, and it made enough sense to me for me to enjoy it. It alludes to a deeper, darker twist, I think.

[@ericbukley2140]

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!! I just gave my first ever dislike. Usually if I don't like something I just don't give a like. This video didn't Really make sense. It feels more like a scene from a movie that goes nowhere..... Sorry.

[@nicoleswan3053]

Pretty sure I just gave my first ever dislike too... to your comment. This short made too much sense and could go any number of places. It seemed like an awesome beginning to a season of sci-fi horror. The creators definitely have my support in building on this! :)

[@AtlasReburdened]

@@nicoleswan3053 Isn't there a name for that? Erroneously seeing patterns in noise, I mean.

[@AnOrdinaryWombat]

@@AtlasReburdened are you referring to apophenia or pareidolia?

[@williammacgregor7542]

This was confused. Wonder what was left on the cutting room floor besides the plot?

[@grene1955]

Above all, the acting was fantastic! The story needed more time to expand and explain I think, but the film was better than most, IMO...

[@19ThreeLions97]

What are ya'll whining, that was weird and pretty damn good

[@lumen8r]

Had they ever watched Ren & Stimpy, like civilized people, they’d know the dangers of...Space...MADNESS

[@Richard44077]

“In the pipe 5 by 5.” A shout-out to the film Aliens?

[@tokajileo5928]

interesting, communication with mission control instantaneous...

[@davefreier7738]

Some good technique and production, but it really would have benefited from more character development, a more coherent story, or preferably both.

[@JasonLianneMac]

I hate it when they put so much effort into their set just to ignore some stupid “historic” technology. First scene, rotating amber light and massive flashlight. Did humanity forget about LED lighting?

[@laughterman805]

Hey! Everyone! It doesn’t have to be coherent to make a point. My takeaway: something going terribly wrong and or losing your mind in space, far from home, is horrible and shity. I’m thinking of it like expressionist art. The video conveys a vague concept and the feelings associated with it

[@mahalalel7771]

Great film...but totally not fair. Good job.

[@AlgoRhythmmike]

So much anger in the comments..... It seems the director melded two movies, one about space dementia and one about alien take over of the commander. It confused many but didn't suck.

[@koreylackford5621]

I liked the one on the alien escaping being held captive. That was the best one I seen so far. Throwing a boomerang of respect/love all the way from Wilmington Delaware 2020.