You can redo your life, but you have to die first | Sci-Fi Short Film: "CTRL Z"

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A hopeless romantic invents a device that allows him an infinite amount of attempts to impress the girl of his dreams...but he must die each time.
CTRL Z by James Kennedy
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Director Website: www.himynameis.co.uk
Director Reel: vimeo.com/3112...
Movie Page: / ctrlzfilm
CTRL Z CREDITS
CREW
Written & Directed by James Kennedy
Director of Photography James Oldham
Produced by James Kennedy, James Oldham
Edited by James Kennedy
First Assistant Editor James Oldham
“The Device” designed and built by Toby Burkill
CAST
Ed - Ed Easton
Carrie - Kath Hughes
Sarah - Katie Beresford
Waitress - Natalie Ferrigno
Young Lover Female - Sarah Raine
Young Lover Male - Garry Smith
Bald Man - Rory Doak
Bald Mans Wife - Julia Ainsworth
Book Worm - Nathan Maguire
Chef - Javon Bowen
Man on Phone - Peter Griffin
Man behind Ed - Will Khambatta
Script Editor Katie Martin
Production Designer James Kennedy
Camera Op James Oldham
1st AC Ed Stone
Production Manager - Francesca Fulton
Boom Op Chris Fulton
Sound Recordist Chris Fulton & Paul Baddiley
2nd AC Jazz Rivens
DIT Jazz Rivans
Grip Jason Lee, Aiden Bell
Grip Trainee Greg Norton
Gaffer Dan Tunstall
Colour Grade by Tom Majerksi at Tetragrade
Rain and Blood effects by Scott Macintyre
Hair and Make Up Sarah Feist
Digital Effects by Greg Norton & James Kennedy
Runner Dave Collins
Runner Chantal Kitto
BTS Video Sam Stubbs
BTS Photography Luke Schofield
Catering by Laura Fulton
Shot on location at Mersey Café, Stockport.
Thanks You’s
Kickstarter People
Mum and Dad
Coronation Street for the sound gear!
Stockport City Council
Mersey Café
James at No Drama
Chris at PKE Lighting
Provision
Salford Van Hire
M & A Brown
Afflecks Palace
Paul Wright
#DUST #scifi #shortfilm
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[@TheBakmoi]

The ending is so brutal. You can see him trying to avoid it few times before accepting his fate

[@JettyBootChamp]

I noticed that. At one point he braces early, knowing the bus is coming. Then he tries to jump out of the way. Every ill fated attempt to avoid this terrifying death loop, a vain endeavor 😢

[@Veloziraptor111]

I don't think he's been through it enough to realize just how horrible his fate is, much less accept it. Think about it, with no way in sight to break the loop, he is stuck living this one second before dying over and over and over again FOREVER. There seems to be no way for him to move fast enough to avoid the bus and the conditions will always be the same as it's just the same second, same scenario being replayed every time. No outside factor is coming to change those conditions. No one else but him will even be aware that it's happening. And since he can't save himself and no one is coming in to save him, his existence will be an eternity of repeating the same moment. Eternity is not really something a human mind can grasp. 10 years is a long time for us. 100 years is longer than a lifetime. 1000 years seems impossibly far away already. 6000 years encompasses the entirety of human history. 200000 years - the entirety of known existence of our species. He's going to exist that long, stuck in repetition of this moment. But that's not the end of it, oh no. That is a mere drop in an infinite ocean that is eternity. And we can only theorize what that would do to a brain. Our memories are faulty even for the duration of several years, not to mention a lifetime. But he will experience multiple of those. It's probably safe to say that he will eventually forget any memory of the man he was or the events that lead to his current condition, his only memory being this one second repeating as far back as he can remember, with no way out and no ending in sight. Forever. Honestly, being that we don't and can't know what that sort of experience would do to a mind, his only hope of relief would be that his brain would get fried to the point where he doesn't realize what's happening anymore, essentially existing in a vegetative state. Still, that's only a different form of eternal torment. When your only hope is that you at least won't realize how much you are suffering, you are well and truly fucked. When you think about it, this has to be one of the cruelest things to ever happen to someone on screen.

[@JettyBootChamp]

@@Veloziraptor111 man took a casual comment and wrote a thesis on why he doesn't agree.

[@internetphia]

+@@JettyBootChamp Did you actually read it? He's right. Don't just dismiss something because it's longer than a TikTok comment..

[@JettyBootChamp]

@@internetphia lol

[@parkerfriends2219]

I love the foreshadowing of the end by the line about how a shoelace can mean the difference between finding the love of your life and being hit by a bus

[@catbert7]

*forever

[@ThisIsKayce]

I had forgotten where I had heard the reference before in the film😅

[@JohnHenryJones-u1r]

Chekov's Bus.

[@Ryl3925]

Ahaaaa

[@aotmn8399]

I honestly thought he was going to destroy the device only to discover that Sarah got killed by a bus, and then he could never go back and save her.

[@atheistlinguist542]

Given the comedic tone of everything leading up to it, I can't decide if that ending is the darkest of dark humor or just straight-up horror.

[@Pawelandbajer]

It's definitely a horror if you think about it. He is stuck FOREVER in a loop where he constantly dies over and over again without ending, unless he somehow manages to dodge the bus. I can't think of worse punishment at the moment and that already says a lot for a psycho that I am :)

[@BatMan-xr8gg]

@@Pawelandbajer And she is stuck looking at her shoe forever.

[@Tespri]

@@BatMan-xr8gg Difference is... She is not aware of it.

[@Tespri]

@@Pawelandbajer That machine has to run out of power one day.

[@BatMan-xr8gg]

@@Tespri And?

[@ShR33k]

That ending had me in stitches. Me and my nephew once played Half Life to complete it all the way through. We was doing so well... and then my nephew hit the quick save button at the wrong point as the elevator opened, and we kept getting immediately blasted. We was stuck in a loop just like that guy, so we ended up giving up...

[@erayozdemir4738]

LMAAAOOO!!!

[@lakecityransom]

We all done it before haha.

it happened with my lit sister, we were playing Resident evil in hard mode and we get to some point that we were damaged and have no potions, before a boss, by mistake we saved on the last checkpoint and... nobody could survive with that amount of health. :c F

[@alexreadsthings5677]

Someth8ing similar happened to a friend of mine. Halo 2, saved right before or as he got stuck with a grenade. Only save file.

[@rishirajmukati8407]

so did this guy

[@anupomasharma6540]

That was literally the best ending of the short movies I've ever watched...

[@nic8671]

Nope. The ending ruined it. Cliche' AF.

[@stdev.]

@@nic8671 Disagree.

[@nic8671]

@@stdev. don't care

[@JeloOW]

@@nic8671 dont care

[@nic8671]

@@JeloOW don't care

[@joshl6275]

Moral of the story: don't be a doofus and not look both ways when crossing the street with a magical time resetting device.

[@misterandrefriggindoppelga7595]

🤣

[@mammadingo9165]

Yes underrated comment right here

[@kh9785]

Well, wasn't he just doing it for fun? Ok. I am gonna have to watch again.

[@pnut3844able]

@@kh9785 no he wasn't

[@pnut3844able]

@@kh9785 he's stuck in a time loop forever

[@carolneal6157]

I love that his former comment about taking a second to walk around someone who had to tie their shoe could be the difference in finding the love of your life or being hit by a bus...and then Carrie's shoe is untied, but she says she'll tie it in the car. He needed that second to save his life instead of ending it...brilliant use of the concept!

[@nic8671]

Nope. The ending ruined it. Cliche' AF.

[@daevydjae]

I don't believe I didn't realize that before seeing this comment. That's brilliant!

[@ututut77]

holy crap, i missed that!

[@clearspiritnow]

Spot on Carol. Your analysis allows a so-called "dark ending" to be also interpreted as a logical conclusion to the aforementioned "former comment about taking a second......"

[@BettyAlexandriaPride]

@@nic8671 For me, it took on a different meaning. I was actually hit by a car. I survived but my dad didn't. Seeing it over and over again was... traumatic to say the least. It didn't really ruin it for me, but I went from almost crying to being really confused about how long he'd be stuck in that loop.

[@stephenscott5044]

That ending is... disturbing and horrific. And one of the best things I've seen. Great job y'all.

[@Fweaka]

Smart enough to make a time machine with plutonium and etc. But not smart enough to time save in a safe location.

[@zunnfix8295]

Also, the foreshadowing at 11:51 lol

[@RusselKabirTR]

It was the most satisfying ending I have ever seen. The amount of stupidity that the two of them showed was making me shiver in anger.

[@JoelMurphy77]

Am I the only one who wanted to scream at Carrie that she hadn't lived through three years? She only lived through it once. It was Ed that went the long way round.

[@38procentkrytyk]

She's awful human being.

[@EverlifeGame]

She was just being funny.

[@JoelMurphy77]

@@38procentkrytyk That's a rather extreme point of view.

[@bruceforsman4812]

yeah but she felt violated, feelings don't have to make sense you know she is in shock trying to wrap her head around it as well and think it add humore to the vid. but ed pointing that out could easily been scripted and would not be out of place either not sure it would make it any better though just different

[@Turbonilla]

yes, but he changed her destiny a million of times without her consent, though

[@kuroihana9360]

Imagine how ballsy he had to have been to test that thing out for the first time.

[@ProtTheKPAXian]

@@thesphider8298 clever idea for a test

[@michaelwinter742]

I think it’s a metaphor.

[@jobzzraj7979]

@@thesphider8298 by what you said, it will only cause him to go in a loop without end.

[@bluejay44]

@@thesphider8298 If he tested it on an animal it would reset time to when he hit the button and he'd never know it worked.

[@zzasdfwas]

@@thesphider8298 No, he wouldn't be able to observe it working for anyone else but him. Presumably, it does work for others, but only in their point of view, since only their consciousness jumps back in the timeline. But the boy is the protagonist, and we are following his conscious timeline. That's why it didn't appear to work for the girl. It's related to the idea of quantum immortality, which is the idea that a conscious being is immortal, because in the many worlds interpretation, anything that can happen happens. The idea of many worlds is not so controversial, but the idea that your subjective consciousness would not perceive itself dying is definitely controversial.

[@anasb.8647]

I did not expect that ending, and I was not disappointed at all

[@Nice2MeetU2011]

Well said! Great story. Brilliant acting. Peace.

[@alexandergaus493]

Indeed...

[@Antigone10]

No joke, brilliant!

[@aakds]

Fabulous ending for a clichê story haha

[@RenLobo69]

That's funny because that's almost exactly how I thought it would end.

[@muuubiee]

When she was giving him a beating the danger became pretty clear... It's possible to end up with a respawn point right before you'll inevitably die. This has happened in video games too...

[@charlesboone-e4f]

Does anyone realize she beat him to death in that restaurant? She beat him to death!

[@Matty80822]

save states in emulators broke whole game runs hahahaha

[@richardmahn7589]

@@charlesboone-e4f So if she beat him to death, and he came back, she doesn't know she beat him to death and beats him to death again and again and again. I guess though with this knowledge he had time to stop it, unlike the bus.

[@internetphia]

+@@richardmahn7589 Ohh, true! Plothole! I've seen this so many times but didn't notice until this comment.

[@todrapayne]

"I'm a woman. No, literally, I'm a woman." And he just laughs. LOL I love male/female friendships so much. So many great lines in this. The writing is superb; as is the acting.

[@leroyj3627]

Totally agree!

[@Rahul-ow8qz]

@Music & Whistle msk Hey Mr/Mrs Vanilla from the Rainbow world living on the Strawberry street.

[@Nihilism110]

@@Rahul-ow8qz lololol

[@vandellprueitt7]

@Music & Whistle msk shut up it had nothing to do with her size it had everything to do with their relationship

[@2552644]

lol i put on a dress and wore make-up once on a sort of school prom once, one of my guy classmate gasped when he saw me and he was like "[MY NAME] YOU'RE A GIRL?!!!" everybody else looked at my direction at his exclamation and had the same reaction

[@GayAstray]

The actors chemistry is so great he entire way through. THAT ENDING. Savage

[@nic8671]

Nope. The ending ruined it. Cliche' AF.

[@unicorn.mushroom]

@@nic8671 your comments have ruined the comment section. Over used. Old. Tiring. Seems kind of immature to copy paste the same thing... over and over and over. Everyone gets it, you hate the ending. Move on 😂

[@nic8671]

@@unicorn.mushroom - aww, someone else's opinion can ruin something for you? Not for me, I don't give a F about your opinion. Everyone gets it, you don't like my comment. Move on😂

[@drewross3240]

@@nic8671 you should copy the end of this short movie irl

[@superyeah4ever2]

@@nic8671 you don't care that much that you just had to copy paste it everywhere to show everyone how much you don't care

[@isacmorales8411]

That was literally the best ending ever!!! And if you notice dude even starting smiling!

[@sparkymist]

It’s because of the irony behind it lol

[@Todd5747]

he seemed to try getting more momentum and turned different ways trying to survive the hit. But the timing is against him. xD

[@bruceforsman4812]

@@Todd5747 at first yes then there is, without doubt, resigned acceptance of the absurdity while grinning like an idiot and trust me long before that battery wears out freeing him it will become uncontrollable sobbing followed by some sort of madness I think manic periods followed by some sort of vegetative or catatonic state

[@frogpants3005]

wonder if he felt the hit each time over and over and over and over

[@TanmaySaha1]

@Teena Courtney Yeah I am sure you'd want that lovey dovey end! In all fairness, I knew it that he was definitey going to die, but I thought may be destroys the device, and then dies! But omg, this ending is just beautiful!

[@oscarmendoza7925]

The smile at the end!! One can only imagine sisyphus as being happy

[@ianmcc6802]

I like to imagine he escaped the time loop by falling straight onto his back eventually narrowly avoiding the bus

[@meenalkhanda7941]

Not enough time for even that

[@jameswehyee9116]

We all would like to say that but the thing is it's over he is done for

[@eldritchbeluga9277]

if something has a chance of happening, even miniscule, and time is infinite, it eventually will happen

[@vaolin1703]

@@eldritchbeluga9277not before he’s turned into a vegetable though. His brain won’t be able to take this for long.

[@ሽሮእወዳለሁ]

No!

[@idrow1]

His female friend was a really good actress, I loved her character. And that ending, holy crap. This was well made all around. It was nice not to predict what was going to happen or sit through another remake. I'll take a good short over a standard length movie of the crap they're putting out today.

[@misterandrefriggindoppelga7595]

🤣LMFAO with Truth🤣

[@Sci-Fi_Fan296]

I agree. Well said.

[@nic8671]

Nope. The ending ruined it. Cliche' AF.

[@jamiecurran3544]

Yeah well said, can't stand all this Hollywood modern BS !, 😁🤣🤣✌

[@timchiplis4128]

Did he create a safe point seconds before stepping out in front of the bus ?

[@Digitalhunny]

These two actors NEED their own sitcom or something! Excellent chemistry.💖

[@shaunzee420]

Couldn't agree more!

[@masonhill775]

@@mediatool9596 projecting much

[@tonys9796]

*Absolutely agree!*

[@CourTooKnee]

Netflix series would be awesome

[@yevasirakanyan3129]

@@mediatool9596 so you only watch shows/ movies with good looking people? I almost feel bad for you

[@LmnRn]

I always watch DUST videos just like I watched Black Mirror. You can't get too attached to any character, not even have a little hope for them, bc you never know what kind of terrible things might happen to them.

[@xoxo.patriona]

Didn’t it use to be named Alter or am i trippin?

[@nick-of-all-trades]

The fact that the cube is all over the table with every cut drives me crazy.

[@russr9045]

I'm trying to figure out if that is a continuity error or on purpose since that same scene has happened over 4000 times.

[@Eidako]

Quantum uncertainty. The position of the cube is in a state of flux until it is observed.

[@cchapa7470]

I'm certain that was intentional. Early in the convo it was my first clue (though I already suspected)

[@RachaelClag]

On purpose for sure! Too many other little Easter eggs in there as well for that one to be a mistake!

[@adamantobserver8655]

There's the one with the world of ketchupless

[@19ThreeLions97]

Sci fi is that part where he actually gets her number

[@mikomikolul]

not possible in our universe at all

[@davidanthrope6084]

It's the phone number for the local suicide hotline. She must be psychic!

[@maisetas]

@@davidanthrope6084 comment section is better

[@FukaiKokoro]

Not necessarily. A lot of guys would call her ugly or fat. So. There’s someone for everyone.

[@johnconstanix9936]

ooooo burn !!!

[@KittyView]

That ending, I’m gutted. this is one of the best written shorts I’ve seen. Kudos to all involved!

[@cristhecris_]

yeah the ending was not good. i mean it's kinda funny but also extremely sad and it's sad that he got the happy ending he wanted and then that happened

[@700toamillion2]

They just copied S04E08 of Rick and Morty

[@DrTheRich]

@@cristhecris_ Watch closely, this only happened because he tried making a savepoint anyway while saying he would destroy it. It's his own fault because he still got greedy in the end. Poetic justice

[@Pilgrim182]

What an ending. That is the description of hell. Endless pain, no more hope, destruction continues forever and ever.

[@DannyWildmen]

I had a friend who said his idea of hell would be a woman sitting on a keg of beer that was full of holes, and she had none! Yeah pretty much the same thing.

[@Dereks06]

From the the time he created the device, he was doomed to live his life for eternity. Whether by bus or old age.

[@Eureka20043]

UNTIL THE TIME HE FIGURES OUT A WAY TO SURVIVE

[@divyanshgoel128]

The worst part is that he will be the one truly stuck and going mad, its the worst punishment

[@carbon60unit]

But the save point seems to be for all reality. He single-handedly stopped the universe, forcing it to repeat the same short interval. Only way out I can see is if the box has some property which is not reset and runs out eventually. (Save limit, plutonium decay, batteries, etc.)

[@RiversJ]

@no one expected the spanish inquisition It'll malfunction at some point due to quantum tunneling, at some halfway to infinity number of repeats there will be a fusion collision causing the devices properties to change. Any interdimensional travelers will however dissect his brain and psychology for an entire infinity to see why he would timestop his entire universe.

[@carbon60unit]

@@RiversJ Travelers from the parallel universe kept disappearing into this one reality. They finally sent a class 10 temporally shielded probe which traced the problem to some bozo on one backwater planet. They took him and the device back to their reality where he will be in a penalty box for a few millennia. At least there are no buses in said box.

[@club6525]

@@RiversJ That's impossible to determine because we don't understand how the device actually functions and from what I heard when he mentioned how it works, it probably won't stop working ever.

[@thesphider8298]

@@club6525 Heisenberg's uncertainty principle says: given infinite retries, it will certainly malfunction at some point.

[@ms.chelleg2068]

The script, the characters, the ending, the acting --- PHENOMENAL

[@BrandonJOlson]

Absolutely BRILLIANT combination of Sci-Fi, Comedy and tragedy... With a discrete dose of foreshadowing, haha! Loved this piece.

[@pratham3537]

Foreshadowing ?

[@adammortley6375]

@pratham3537 I'm paraphrasing, but when he said "When you bend over to tie your shoe, the one extra second it takes a stranger to walk around you can be the difference of them meeting the love of their life or getting hit by a bus" 11:45

[@kynaleonardo1829]

Funny enough when I heard her about to tie her shoelace I knew something was up lol.

[@erikkarlsson9192]

@@kynaleonardo1829 Not so discrete tbh, but awesomely executed. :D

[@technical3182]

Didnt get it. He did remembered stabbing himself and forgets that he got hit by a bus?

[@daxt3rdefluff255]

I really hope to think he’d eventually find a way out of that ending, the rest of it was so sweet!

[@firesong7825]

"Is it that obvious?" Took him 3 years to notice.

[@frogpants3005]

the waitress of eternal knowledge

[@Ana-im4dz]

Actually the joke was also about himself, that HE was an evil man. That’s why he wrote that note, he wrote it about himself, as an apology.

[@EggBear]

🤣

[@angelsintahoe]

@@Ana-im4dz I can't make out what the note said! Can you reveal?

[@candeezymarie9827]

@@angelsintahoe "I'm sorry some men are EVIL."

[@alpeterson]

4th time watching and I JUST NOW noticed the restaurant’s sign says “We do our business in your mouth.” hahahahaha

[@hobbes2555]

I noticed it about 4 mins in. lol

[@zbellion__noillebz6021]

U 3 nerd t0o slow like snail

[@scottwall8419]

Came to comments just to upvote the first person that noticed that ha ha

[@tleemf6923]

Lollollol ..didn't notice that thank you.

[@physics_enthusiast_Soorya]

F***ing lier

[@souravmishra521]

Now that's a story well written and well shown to the audience.

[@jameskennedy5811]

So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!

[@MahaDidThat]

@@jameskennedy5811 this is a good one, James. Good job. 👍🏻

[@OpasgegenLinks]

james kennedy It‘s better than some episodes of the Twilight Zone remake. Thanks for making this masterpiece.

[@MichaelC1245]

The ending has been a brutal recurring dream of mine for many years. Not the dying part but the reliving the same second over and over with no control. It was so bad after the 3rd bus hit I was actually getting nauseous and had to stop the video. Ive spent the last few days forcing myself to watch the ending and it has no effect on me anymore. So thank you for inadvertently curing a condition I didnt know that I had. I no longer fear that dream.

[@ArcticProxy]

I've had several bad trips on nitrous that were like that. The ending made me so unfortable too because that is the most terrifying feeling ever to be "stuck" in a loop like that.

[@Nunya111]

Holy cow man I mean it’s pretty brutal but grow a pair ya snowflake 🤣

[@ArcticProxy]

@@scorpion0498 Yeah, I'm not sure if anything external was involved with OP's dream, but I will say that I have avoided most psychoactive substances since then. Even stuff that is supposed to be beneficial for dealing with challenged like psilocybin has become much more uncomfortable now. But time definitely helps the lasting dissociation after such a thing happens.

[@MichaelC1245]

@@scorpion0498 no the OP did not. Never done anything harder than alcohol and weed. The dream started when I was in my early teens before I had the chance to try any of it. Still have it every week or so but as I said ive conquered it now. I now wake up calmly cause I know its a dream instead of a state of pure panic and terror.

[@bayc3715]

​@@MichaelC1245I had a bad trip on MDMA and Ket and thought I was stuck in a never ending time loop where my death is repeated over and over, very very scary.

[@edyak6280]

What an amazing display of talent; acting, comic timing, direction, editing, set design, soundtrack... Great things evidently can come in small packages. Thanks to all involved, a credit to the entertainment industry.

[@dasher2409]

I was expecting a similar kind of mistake that he did in the end. We do face the same while frequently quick saving in a game just exactly before the character dies.

[@irrevenant8724]

Amazingly I have over a thousand hours sunk into Skyrim and *didn't* see this coming. >_

[@sola4393]

yes that is how I saw it when I save my game at the wrong time. lol

[@NiMareQ]

This has happened to me once. It took me 2 hours to get good random values and survive.

[@jesseallen3109]

not the way I play. I play for hours and forget to save.. then I fuck up and dye due to mistimed healing or low mana, or what have you.. realize my mistake.. and put the game down for a day or so... longer if the fault was game crash.

[@shawnerz98]

"You've kept me hostage to your ridiculous chub-on for three years!?!" 🤣 What a line! That was an AMAZING short! I loved it! Great job!

[@Hust91]

He held the entire universe hostage for three years! Of course noone noticed, so arguably he only held himself hostage.

[@protus3882]

she wouldn’t even feel like it. her feeling a certain way about it feels kinda off

[@JesterLegend4life]

Yeah. For her, it is a normal day. I find it weird why she is reacting that way.

[@blackkbros6111]

When you think you’ve gotten it, life hits you so hard and you keep trying until you eventually just stop trying

[@kajakjohlopi7843]

Then maybe you're doing it wrong.

[@ashleighjavani5716]

The fact that the cube keeps moving around throughout is GENUIS

[@ashleighjavani5716]

GENIUS *

[@veradorton7447]

OHHHHHHHHH THATS WHY IT MOVES AROUND

[@ReneCarmonaCaimito]

please explain... or I'll time cube you in a fit of passion loop... err wait

[@9Kualalumpur]

@@ReneCarmonaCaimito It's a collage of different iterations

[@Igor.Yakushev]

Don't know why so many people find the ending hilarious. His fate is worse than death.

[@Mr-Pixelated]

eventually his atoms will phase through the bus he just has to keep trying

[@orangesolarflare4228]

@@Mr-Pixelated omg this is brilliant

[@DeadeyeDaily]

The irony is why! ...And the "I can relate" factor.🤣Mental-level hilarious!!

[@ghaytho.dabbagh1311]

Quint's : "We do our business in your mouth" Isn't that just hilarious 😂😂😂

[@diazjoram]

Lmfao I was waiting for someone to say this!!!! I couldnt stop laughing at that

[@jroberts1734]

Me 3!!

[@anitabosse]

Picture if it was an adult film maker...

[@islandsedition]

Genius!

[@Alexandria197]

I noticed that too when they were standing out there yeah LOL

[@googleuser8740]

Easy fix set it so that once you hit a save point x number of times it failsover to a previous save point a few seconds prior. This continues indefinitely.

[@BabySisZ_VR]

if only I weren't in a constant death loop with no way to actually apply the fix

[@christophernolan1399]

I love how the box moves around the table with every shot :)

[@anotherpromotor]

I was so confused why there was a shot of it hanging off of the table and the next it being against the wall. That is really clever

[@TheDavidjoek]

OMG what an ending!!!!!! Laughing and crying at the same time!

[@ralphlopez2677]

Me too ! My heart cryed out in horror as it was simultaneously set free

[@bisleyblackhawk1288]

Amen!

[@vibhorjambhulkar3932]

He's a kind of character who you would love, hate, get angry on, impressed by, frustrated by, scared by and feel every other emotion for him. So you decide to better stay away ! P.S - I would rather choose death even if I knew it beforehand over asking out a girl 4875 times for f's sake !

[@anonymouslearner2454]

4795

[@AndreBellCopywriter]

"Can you just make a save point on there for me please..." Hilarious! Didn't see that coming. Haven't laughed out that loud in weeks. And that ending. My gosh. Thanks to Dust for sharing it and thanks to cast and crew for filming it!!

[@Zodliness]

I agree with so many other comments here, THIS has to have been one of the BEST short films I've ever watched. it captured the imagination right from the onset and continued its intriguing whimsical plot, to the most amazingly and humorous of conclusions! BRAVO @DUST 👍❤

[@cuanhundermark4107]

11:34 - He knew, without knowing, just how it would all end...! Poor bloke.

[@BQwain]

I had to watch it again, and then you totally blew my mind. It stuck in my craw but I hadn't placed it together yet. You totally called that he totally called it!! Excellent.

[@Candy_Gal]

Cuan Hundermark Good catch! I missed that! 😃

[@cuanhundermark4107]

@How Not To, compare 11:34 - 12:00 and 20:20 to the end - exactly what he had said COULD happen to someone, happened in the exact same way to him :)

[@3moirai]

I saw this at the Independent Film Festival Boston a few years back, and it was my favorite short film of the whole festival. I'm so glad it's on DUST and KZbin to see again :)

[@jameskennedy5811]

Thank you for checking it out in Boston and also thank you for watching it again!

[@3moirai]

Absolutely my pleasure. You might have to sue Rick & Morty for stealing your idea, lol. Any new films you've been working on?

[@jamesoldhamdop]

@@3moirai We have a couple of things in the pipeline! Stay in touch on our CTRL Z Short Film facebook! :)

[@tammiejade1155]

The bloke is cycic

[@vishank7]

@@jameskennedy5811 Keep up the good work man! This was such a masterpiece! Absolutely beautiful😄💎👌

[@jujubeethatsme]

It took him 3 years to consider her feelings, and only because someone else pointed them out

[@emanuel6233]

"Go to her" "Sorry?" "Huhu i'm just kiddin ion give a shet"

[@jasonluong3862]

The ending is brilliant. He created a restore point now that he's gotten the girl of his dream, thinking he can always go back to this moment should the future turns awry. Fate intervenes and has him killed immediately right after he sets the restore point, causing a causality loop that goes on for eternity. Causality loop is one of the best plot devices in time travel stories. The origin story of Hodor is the best use of causality loop.

[@nic8671]

Nope. The ending ruined it. Cliche' AF.

[@stdev.]

@@nic8671 I'm going to hound you and ask you to reconsider. lol

[@nic8671]

@@stdev. waste of time

[@jesseallen3109]

the stupidity of setting a restore point.. is he was going to DESTROY the device.. So why make the restore point? For the punch line of the ending. Which is either comdeic genius or pure horror. I mean.. I'm assuming it's warping time all over for it to work..

[@EricRedbear]

Are you throwing out this spoiler for the people who have already seen it and know what happened or just because you are a jerk?

[@ctakitimu]

I like how he just leaned into it at the end, resigned to always being hit by the bus. Lucky he didn't die slowly and in agony at the end. Still, if he contorts his body in different shapes in the last second he has, he'll find one where he lives even if he's all banged up.

[@darrinsiberia]

He could throw the box on the ground so it gets shattered by the bus as he dies therefore he would really die and not respawn also.

[@rodjacksonx]

That's actually a viable way out, but unfortunately, I doubt he'd have time to do that. That loop is like a second long.

[@jetboy531]

better than dying forever, and he can free the universe@@darrinsiberia

[@GiovannaDomenica]

That ending gave me the chills right up my spine.

[@remek830]

Actually, he does not lose his memories so after many thousands tries he might figure it out.

[@Mawzeen]

Or go mad

[@david203]

"after many thousands tries he might figure it out.": The Groundhog Day effect. Very frequent plot in science fiction.

[@wingedstring]

He's gotta learn ultra instinct

[@Luthiart]

Great short! When I realized that this was another "save point" story, I didn't have high expectations, but I really enjoyed everything about this film. The writing, the acting, the cinematography... And that ending really took me by surprise. Great job!

[@nekro6897]

Imagine if a baby pushed it then lived life as normal until they died of old age...

[@thebossthusiast1960]

Interesting idea. They might never even realize what was going on, and would go through life feeling a lot of deja vu and a sense that they've seen it all before.

[@klefromyoutube9953]

the baby will be genius in the next life

[@sydneywest7082]

6:35 it only works for him

[@RachaelClag]

@QuantumRat2005 then everyone will want one! Also... we do not know the effect on other individuals. Would it mean that the baby's parents exist only in their interactions with the baby the second time around?!

[@tenid4824]

maybe the cube can only work if it is around you, you can't maybe designate it to someone else's gnome and then lock it away in a vault half way around the world. maybe the cube needs to always be in proximity to you for it to work (think of a blackhole/whitehole event, you got to be in that location at the same time).

[@danielgriffiths845]

The irony of saving too much to lose to the infamous loop of death. Brings back pleasant memories.

[@tyronetheroid4183]

LMFAO he even started laughing at the end. Lmfao

[@RiversJ]

@@juggalowhoa You'd go clinically insane within a day, i'd imagine since it is decidedly Not a time machine, the device will stop once the plutonium has alpha decayed to the point it doesn't function anymore, shouldn't take more than 20000 years or so... Then he dies and the device is destroyed.

[@zreichgut]

@@juggalowhoa can't he just... take a step back?

[@sergeyromanov5560]

@@RiversJ but Plutonium will never decay since time resets.

[@SivaKanthSharma]

@@zreichgut he's mid step when the save point was set.

[@thesphider8298]

@@SivaKanthSharma exactly... remember momentum? Physics is unforgiving 😂

[@kanhaiya1825]

He tried different ways while getting hit by the bus to not "die" Instantly so that he could get out of the infinite pain death loop But That is one horrible ending

[@ashley2229]

Yeah he did, and I loved how when he realized he couldn't save himself he started leaping in front of the bus there for a while with a big silly smile on his face kinda like he was saying "fu*k it" until the last few times where we saw him just walking in front of it, smiling like he was accepting he was stuck. At least for a while anyway. Seems like eventually he will figure out how to stop dying, but it's not happening any time soon. ☆

[@nic8671]

Nope. The ending ruined it. Cliche' AF.

[@stdev.]

@@nic8671 Where have you seen that before?

[@nic8671]

@@stdev. The idea of finally getting what you want and then losing it? All over. Do you even watch movies? lol.

[@stdev.]

@@nic8671 Themes repeat, certainly. But the implementation here is pretty unique. Where else have you seen "and then losing it" as the ending but on loop?

[@anonymousstrangeness7348]

Now I've stopped watching other KZbin videos and I just watch this video over and over and over... so ...Thank you !!!

[@OzMonster88]

When I first got the gist of what his thing does, I immediately thought about what if he saved right before dying and couldn't do anything about it. I was shocked by the ending but one of the best short films I ever seen.

[@elaniarkady7351]

I think Carrie was cast brilliantly. I want to have tea with that character. :)

[@darkbulb367]

OK... the "here come the chunks" acting... that lady has my ultimate respect. She conveyed revolt to an intensity I truly admire. Sweet lord that actress made me believe that.

[@LED-VIBES]

I can't congratulate this whole production and everyone involved enough. Absolute masterpiece. Everything was so well done.

[@vishtafayaz]

One of the Best DUSTs....The Ending in my opinion is him going back thousands of times to experince that moment with her, cheek to cheek, and we already know how persistent he is....and it is soooo romantically hillarious😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆

[@SierraThunder]

That has to be the BEST ending to any short with a "Groundhog Day" storyline that I've ever watched on Dust. Yes, I truly hoped for some sort of twist to the ending of the film, but to see his different reactions to being hit by the bus over & over again was freaking PRICELESS ! He knows that he's going to be struck endlessly, but never takes that split second to just nudge himself backwards, (though I suppose he will at some point). I'm going to share this video with everyone I can think of. I offer thunderous applause to the writer of this short as well as the fantastic acting. Carrie reminds me strongly of a longtime ladyfriend of mine in both personality & that dry, snarky wit. Just fucking brilliant !!

[@bruceforsman4812]

momentum he literally can not reverse his direction if you are in mid step walking forward ...well just try it yourself. yes cut n pasted myself for you

[@johnsondwayne2315]

@Samuel B. he can jump back after long enough

[@mnmb3640]

At the ending- It’s his faces for me 😂 - as it keeps going back to that final reset point- the levels of emotions : confusion, realizations, hope (that he can jump out of the way), humor, acceptance, indifference then finally - madness 😂😂 Great acting !!!

[@jsteinman]

6:16 The waitress fainting had me in pieces! 😂

[@jsteel89]

"you should see your faces" lmaoooo

[@signsandsymbols]

this film has a such a deep meaning. even the logo for the restaurant is an all-seeing-eye. if you want a hint about what it really means, notice the way that he ends up dealing with the girl situation in the end, then notice how he deals with the "stuck in being hit by a bus forever" situation.

[@waynefilkins8394]

this dust thing is my newest form of procrastination...there's just so many of them and they're all so good

[@sakibsourav2146]

Same bro same. At least it's not pointless facebook scrolling which doesn't even feel good. On the contrary,Short films in Dust feel good. Even though it's waste of time. But it feels meaningful.

[@futzalfan]

Okay, to whom ever wrote this WELL DONE! It was so good I had to sign in to give you a thumbs up. Great story, unexpected, funny, sincere, and cheeseburgers. Seriously very well written!! Thank you.

[@tommyopeters]

"You can't make an omelette without breaking a f..." "-few nuclear conventions!"

[@EmmanuelDufour]

THAT was a line! 😂

[@petaeverton999]

This is brillant. Brillant acting, brillant relationship between the two mains, brillant dark humour and I'd watch these two all day long.

[@stephenjames6080]

Hillarious :) Fantastic actors, script, camera work and direction. I can really feel the chemistry between the two friends. The execution of this is perfect !!! Wow this really made my day.

[@mikelopez6928]

i want this to be a series. id binge watch it for real. also this is pretty much an episode of rick and morty but different.

[@derrickwolters8694]

Yup The Vat of Acid Episode.

[@masemoney666]

100% this idea is adapted from that rick and morty sequence

[@calvinlawrence7292]

Which episode?

[@Jupiterseason]

This feels like Russian Doll to me.. VERY good show

[@VolcanoHotTub]

Imagine, this is the first episode, and then every episode after for 7 seasons is him dying over and over again until the finale when he finally manages to survive, but the device breaks and he is left paralyzed.

[@cheri618]

“this is completely...probably safe.”

[@robertjason6885]

Brilliant:dialog, premise, acting, everything. Congratulations. Just wonderful.

[@rahilj]

and now hes stuck in a perpetual loop

[@Genkuro]

Now he needs a reset. CTRL-ALT-DEL? 😆

[@rahilj]

@@Genkuro yea lol

[@carbon60unit]

@@Genkuro In Unix/Linux terms it would be CTRL/C to interrupt the process.

[@carbon60unit]

and he probably took all of reality along for the (bus) ride. So for hundreds of years, reality kept repeating that second plus interval until the plutonium in his device decayed to the point where it stopped working. He was not saved and the rest of the universe went on its way, unaware of the repetition. Excellent Dust short! Humor, romance, tragedy - well done[Just accidentally selected and erased the prior text - had to hit CTRL/Z to bring it back :) ]!

[@rahilj]

@@carbon60unit yea

[@hectoriusuk]

He died doing what he loved : dying over and over again ...

[@realitycheck5383]

ok, so the story was quite enjoyable right up until the end. then, it was freakin awesome! the camaraderie between the 2 was so enjoyable, and the quirky guy gets the girl scenario and the ending was so beautifully done! even the restaurants name was clever... "Quints.. we do our business in your mouth!". that is perfect. one of the best short stories Dust has ever put out! well done, folks!

[@coolersmoke]

One of my top five shorts of any genre. I come back to watch this slice of perfection every year. Some things to muse on after you've seen it for the first time and may have missed.. The young couple in the first scene miss getting hit by a car by literally a second.. also the dichotomy of their falling out (for no reason at all) while Ed is trying to 'fall in'. The disparity between Carrie and Ed's clothing (he doesn't even seem to have a coat) The backdrop wallpaper showing lines of repetitive images Carrie's undone shoelace made Ed pause for the second, otherwise he'd not have been hit by the bus. So many other nuances, I keep spotting more each time. But above all, just great writing, spot-on casting & character acting, and about as perfect and unexpected ending as you could hope for. Props to you, James Kennedy. PS I've discovered on IMDB that Kennedy has another short coming out this year which he's directed, called "Resident Android"

[@MortenAnderson]

cool

[@rajkamalingle9144]

Please let us know of your other 4 shorts

[@MatthewLenton]

He knows he's stuck in a loop whereas everyone else is oblivious

[@gendygoblin8391]

I freaking love all of these time travel short films! They range from amazingly cool to just funny.

[@patjackmanesq]

Great dialogue, brilliant acting, wonderful story. I can even forgive the missing "OMG" (old sound designer, I'd notice these things). Wonderful work, team!

[@jermzro]

😂every cut the box is moved somewhere else

[@cactusbro1527]

and after a while also the french fries

[@codyg.4767]

This bothered me an unreasonable amount.

[@Mutrax4706]

16:48 i swear, that quote hit hard, because it feels relatable ive some times wanted to do something, but never was able to do it, like simply asking out a crush of many years (when i was small kid), someone i at that time saw recently and wanted to ask out (idk when she got her guy), and just wanting to play with people as a kid. but then, after being too shy to really have fun at a party, and the quote "theres a higher chance that girls wanna dance with you, if you seem to have a good time" is what allowed me to turn up my confidence level when useful, "turning around" my life so i can actually live it well it might be just a bit too much confidence sometimes (idk), but man, realising the relatability just hit incredibly hard

[@Knardsh]

Been obsessed with Dust for a minute now and this is the best yet. well done.

[@DoFliesCallUsWalks]

this is literally the best short film under 1 hour I've ever watched, including the alien fanmade series.

[@Philamosity]

"Three years, THREE YEARS!" This was great. I liked Ed, but Carrie was my favorite!

[@minigamerXL]

I struggled with sleep the first time I watched the ending of this. Absolutely brutal.

[@markmwangi1688]

The ending was hilarious .😄

[@sonofdevil666]

You guys, Omeleto and Wf? are my new favourite channels, quality work and entertaining to watch, keep it up!

[@vulcanlogic4480]

Life is like a bus, you’re just along for the ride.

[@afusmackdown]

I have tears in my eyes!!!! First from deep sadness and then from beautiful laughter!

[@bradjacobs1844]

One of the better short movies I’ve seen. Good acting and good story line. What more do you want?

[@asandax6]

If you become immortal it only raises your chances of getting stuck somewhere forever by 100%.

[@david203]

Asanda, so true. God is stuck here forever (and His is the only consciousness that is so stuck). Actually, the problem would only be if there were still unrealized desires. Free of desires, God is fine with living forever, and has fun creating us, most of whom are ignorant of the simplicity of reality.

[@asc_missions3080]

Yeah. Earth.

[@TrippySepent]

This could definitely be done into a feature film. Or, even a mini series. Maybe a nod at the short somewhere after we learn how he built the device. And, a future nod at how he escaped the save-loop he's stuck in here. I would love that. Tbf I'd even read a book about this. Such a good short.

[@JakeWalkerSong]

I too would like to see him get out of that save-loop. While he may laugh after several attempts, no one just "Accepts their fate" like that. My guess is he would keep trying to avoid the bus and go through several versions where he survived the initial impact and was severely injured. He would have the choice to live the rest of his life with these injuries only to die and try again. OR he could just off himself and try again. My guess is he would try many times, succeed with major injuries (probably several times), rest outside of the impact loop to regain some composure, study the accident in extreme detail. maybe even end up making a computer model to find the most likely way to avoid the impact with the least injuries, and continue this until he avoids the bus... or finally accepts his fate and creates a new save point with whatever injuries he has... considering that to be the best possible outcome. So, he could end up severely injured but alive, with a broken device. He would not be able to make a new save point unless he made another device, which he probably could achieve if he survived. (Let's not forget he has a friend who is aware and supportive of the the machine who could help him, and would hep him). AND, if he quickly tossed the device straight up as part of the plan to escape the impact loop, he may even be able to save the device. Basically, the only way he is actually trapped is if he doesn't try to escape. Infinity is a heck of a thing. In infinity, literally ALL things are possible.The infinite nature of the loop means eventually it is possible to escape this.

[@turulliberalis]

He didn't hold anyone hostage, those three years only happened for him. The friend only lost a few hours of her life, not years.

[@RaineSophiaLewis]

This was pretty cool, I love his female friend and their comedic exchanges. The ending caught me totally of guard. Well done!

[@johnconstanix9936]

This is probably one of the best movie ever and the ending !!! wow !!!!

[@nic8671]

Nope. The ending ruined it. Cliche' AF.

[@sweetiedarling5736]

Reminded me of a Futurama episode, when Fry kept dropping from the building.

[@Peanutdenver]

"Fryyyyyyy!"

[@dontaylucero]

The banter between the two was excellent. So much chemistry