Reviewed by Ben Lee

This review contains some spoilers.

Having just recently reviewed Gnomes, I can find one major similarity between that and Dead Heart in a Dead World - the well thought-out use of colour. Gnomes set the right atmosphere with mostly dark colours, and Dead Heart in a Dead World does something similar. Using only black, grey and white tones, you can immediately tell that the place is abandoned and desolate. And as the dangerous creature prowls around at such a quick speed, you know why the place is dead.

But something is being done about it. Someone has been told to find and capture the monster, and to bring safety back into the 'dead world'. The music played has been well chosen, as when the robotic-like person slowly walks around the barren area, we get this feeling that the creature is in charge of this lifeless 'dead world', and that it could pounce at any time. Atmospherically, this is a winner. Throughout the whole movie, the dead feeling can be felt. The dark tones and the touching music all contribute to this, and if you want a movie which shows how moods should be set, this is for you.

Naturally, the armoured person and the four-legged creature come face-to-face, and here is the first time in the movie where different interpretations and opinions about Dead Heart in a Dead World can form. Fortunately I have not seen any explanations at all, and so I watched this with an open mind. Personally, I thought that the relatively fast-paced fight contradicts the lifeless world, mainly due to the extremely active creature, and as a result, the place is temporarily livened up. Instead of the cold, dark feeling the place has, there is hope that it can be revived, and the short battle breathes life. The hand-made character was created and animated nicely, and it is mainly this 'thing' which makes the battle lively. Quite ironic, isn't it, considering that it is this which has made the 'dead world'.

There is another character, although he only has a small part. No matter how minor or unimportant he is compared to the other two, he adds depth to the movie, and while he is talking, you look around the setting and think 'where is that creature?' adding a little bit of extra suspense. From him we learn a couple of things about this violent monster, and although we already presumed this already, there is actually more than just two characters, and it makes the movie the more interesting. The only main problem I had with him was that at one point, his voice was drowned by the music.

As the final few frames are shown, I felt that this movie was perhaps not quite as sufficiently wrapped up as I expected. It came to a rather sudden end, but watching it a second time, I suppose the ending gives the viewers enough. With an intruiging name, Dead Heart in a Dead World is a great short drama. This is perhaps not Andres' best work, but you can definitely see he knows how to create the right atmosphere. Good music selections and an interestingly-chosen dull colour scheme all add to the mood of the barren world, and right to the end, you won't be able to move out of your chair. Look around you in the real world after Dead Heart in a Dead World has finished running, and you will be grateful that there is colour in your life.

Score: 86/100