Cinema-level production value and great casting make it easy to sit up and take notice of $TACK$, the latest film by director/writer Gerald Webb. The roughly four-minute runtime is just enough to realize you were holding your breath the whole time the tension-filled piece was on your screen. I can imagine some viewers would be lucky enough to catch this at a film festival on the big screen, as a laptop just doesn’t do it justice.

The story is set up simply enough. One gang is looking to hold onto their territory so they’re meeting with a rival gang to pay them off in exchange for a bag of drugs, except it isn’t, and that’s where the movie takes a fantastic turn. As they say, the brilliance is in the simplicity.

Mark Christopher Lawrence is intense, and Diahnna Nicole Baxter gives it right back to him in tight performances all around.

I’m not going to give away the trick to $TACK$, because I really do feel it needs to be seen fresh in order to absorb the full impact of it, but needless to say it will stick in your mind long after the credits roll.

$TACK$ is in the running for one of my favorite short films of this year.