Writer-director Chad Cunningham chillingly locks up prison-horror tropes in his claustrophobic short, Catacombs. Set within tight corridors of institutional white, Cunningham plays with flickering lights, static-filled screens, and legions of the undead. Yet like those black out fades, Catacombs merely teases at the terrors in the night.

 

Mike (Kenneth Trujillo) is a prison guard who ironically treats his position of authority as one of confinement. He wants to break free. But Mike is also responsible, and even friendly. Such commitment only gets you so far once the dead walk the earth.

Cunningham professionally sets up the story juxtaposing low deep shadows that creep away from the fluorescent overheads. However, Catacombs is all set up with the manic mayhem finally arriving in the dying last moments. Cunningham has a great eye for visuals. He has the potential to get scary good, too. He just needs a little extra time. Be that sentenced or not.