The 2008 offering from Clarke M Smith; Shutting Down is really “Kay Otto’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” This bit of science fiction works several calamities into our protagonist’s day. The plumbing has gone awry, her breakfast does not seem very appetizing and the sun is dying.
All told, not a great day.
Our Flashback Friday review is about Shutting Down. This 16 minute short from Smith
The story
Kay Otto has breakfast, talks to her husband and has Don come fix the plumbing. The news is all about the sun burning out and increased UFO sightings. Don fixes the “old fashioned” plumbing system in her kitchen. He starts to tell her something about her husband’s company. Don then starts “glitching” repeating himself like a record skipping on a verse.
Things get worse for poor Kay.
The Main Cast
Kimberly Felipe Villanueva is Kay Otto.
Kevin Rishel is George Otto.
Tom Shay is Don the repairman, aka Andy.
Luis de Amechazurra is the Newscaster.
Sacha Iskra is Annie.
Peter Beam is Yuppie in Pod.
Cast in King/Queen
Villanuena is spot on as the beleaguered housewife. Rishel is very natural as spouse George. Kudos to Tom Shay for his portrayal of Don and Sacha Iskra, as Annie, shines through here *no small parts*. Everyone, bar the Yuppie, kills it here. Well done guys and gals your performances help sell the film and then some.
Shutting Down BTS
Smith gives us a splendid assortment of futuristic looking devices. The VFX in some cases is clunky. The whole thing works though. The toaster oven as scyfy cooker, the small smart phone, the automated house, et al. All these things work. Smith is responsible for all these things and he pulls it off brilliantly.
It works
Shutting Down works.
It is a satirical look at the ugly realities of existence. In the film the middle class have been replaced. He takes the old theory of robots taking over the mundane jobs. We have become obsolete. Those of us not of the 1% clan are wiped out and replaced by “andys.”
Shutting Down would not be out of place on Netflix’s Black Mirror. Needless to say, Rod Serling would have loved it. Whether for The Twilight Zone or the next installment of Serling’s love for the weird and wonderful: Night Gallery.
It turns on you
Smith’s genius is that Shutting Down turns on you. When Don first goes off the rails, it is creepy. The longer it takes, continuity errors aside, it becomes a little scary.
As the condition spreads it becomes, in turns, funny, disturbing and, finally, an odd combination of both emotions. You really cannot help but feel for poor Kay Otto and her terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Side note
My take on Kay’s day the terrible, horrible, and so on, comes from the 2014 “comedic” Disney offering. Titled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day I reviewed it for an online newspaper.
I loathed it.
The title itself seems, in my humble opinion, to be a perfect “second” title. It appears to sum up poor Day Otto’s dilemma in Shutting Down.
Lastly, it was amusing, and oddly comforting, to see the good old Sky News logo.
The Verdict
Shutting Down is a solid 5 star film. Regardless of the UFO FX issues, this one is a winner. It is available on YouTube via TimeAxisMedia channel. Head on over and see what you think.
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