“Step on a crack, and break your mother’s back.”
So goes the old adage. And for most of us that’s all it is – something silly chanted during childhood, then left behind once we’ve grown older and wiser.
But for Scott (Steven Sayer), it’s far more than that. As a child, his mother was killed in front of him in a freak accident. Because Scott stepped on a crack just before the accident occurred, the whole incident has left him deathly afraid of cracks, even to the point of needing psychological hospitalization to deal with this paralyzing fear. He has recently left the hospital and believes himself to be ready to face life in the real world. However, Scott’s fears soon catch up to him again, in the form of a menacing crack that chases him all over town.
Content
This is a very interesting story and, perhaps to some people, a very poignant one. Most of us, at one time or another have taken an idle superstition a little too far, but there are some people who can become so consumed with fear that it takes over their entire lives. “Cracked” did a very good job at illustrating that kind of fear; as Scott desperately runs away, this very intelligent crack in the sidewalk continues to follow after him.
I really liked the opening of the film and its use of newspaper articles to explain the backstory. This type of a plot could have been done the usually way – a flashback to young Scott as his mother is killed, shot montages of the ensuing police investigations, Scott’s mental breakdown and resulting hospitalization, then finally his release back into society. But this would have been rather tedious and all too done-before. Newspaper headlines are always short and sweet and to the point, and as a result they are great for filmmakers who want to get through a long bit of plot in a short period of time. Plus a lot of the human interest-type articles usually include quotes in large, bold fonts that sort of wrap up the whole story. These filmmakers did a great job at taking advantage of the medium of newspaper in setting the story.
I also liked how, when Scott is running through the streets, he is the only person in sight. On the one hand this focuses the viewer on Scott’s plight and how this is an issue that disturbs only him. On the other hand, it is a hint of the fact that this is probably all happening in his mind, leading the possibility that he hasn’t yet been let out of the hospital, or that now he has been let out he is still unable to function in the “real” world.
The only issue that I noticed was that it was difficult to tell what the purpose of this film actually is. I can see how some people may take it extremely seriously, while others may view it as entirely humorous. And because this is a short film and (to my knowledge) not intended to be based on reality, that may not be such a big deal.
Visual Look
In the case of “Cracked,” I was very impressed at the quality level of the visual effects; especially considering the low budget. The moving crack in the sidewalk was perhaps the best aspect as it looked very realistic. But when Scott runs down the stairs in his apartment building, the effect of the walls cracking and the ceiling falling down around him looked more than a little fake. It also looked like the same effect was repeated multiple times. It might be beneficial to change this effect just slightly, or perhaps to show a little less of it.
