Reviewed by James Quicksell

If there is one movie out there that should show exactly how a short should be directed its In The Box. Clocking in at a cool seven minutes, Guy Collins takes the viewer on an adventure involving Jimmy, an ordinary citizen, caught in a race to find a cardboard box containing ten million dollars hidden in a forest over fifty years ago by a bank robber. Even if the plot seems a fairly linear the way it is implemented in this movie is absolutely perfect.

The first thing that really sticks out about this movie is the pacing. Some may not like it as it moves by rather quickly but in the big scheme of things this movie is the perfect length. While a lot of the story is given quite quickly it never ever drags and most of the dialogue is still quite understandable, even when moving at a rapid pace. To be honest this adds on to the slickness that the movie portrays overall. Collins shines in this area.

The scenery wasn't too bad either. Most people would view it as "old school" which it is but for the type of movie it was it worked perfectly. Even though most of it consisted of cylinders, squashed tents and spheres the way it was all constructed made it look just right. And since the movie moved at a decent rate it really didn't matter in the long run. The animation was also phenomenal. The way the cameras pans at just the right time and at the right speed makes for some beautifully worked scenes. The ambulance explosion has got to be the best car crash scene I've ever seen. Just the way the camera shook even as the smoke went up at a constant rate was just the kinda of animation that suits a movie like this.

The music was well chosen as well. Only using about 5 or 6 songs total they were placed well and really added to the aforementioned animation. Collins also makes use of quieting the music to use as background noise throughout some scenes which added a cool effect. Sound was also fairly decent, albeit some quiet parts but that's forgivable. Voicewise this movie has a cast that was definitely built for the characters they played. To be honest I can't really think of any character that did seem out of place. Definitely a great cast.

In The Box is definitely a short that you should check out. Only seven minutes long but full of entertainment and humor, it gets my whole-hearted recommendation. Even as a movie made in 2001 (I believe) it holds its own against some of the big movies of today.

9/10