What do you believe about nuclear disarmament? Do you believe there are ethical imperatives? Tyler Haynes directs and stars in AFK_, a short film that tries to answer those questions within a cyberpunk construct. While this short is on the longer side at fifteen minutes, there’s quite a bit punch packed in.
Long shots of dialogue between Tyler Haynes having a discussion with Rob Stewart who portrays some type of arresting officer trying to put the pieces together as to why Haynes’s character was involved with a cyber attack to disarm certain countries of their ability to use nuclear warheads were well timed and thought out. Never did it feel like a banal recitation of all the things you would expect to hear when actors try to sound more intelligent about nuclear warfare compared to the expectations of the audience.
The music is particularly fun, though I wouldn’t necessarily have categorized it as cyber punk. There are several shots that wouldn’t have had the impact on my viewing without the music setting the tone. This may seem obvious, but as someone who watches a lot of shorts, I can tell you it makes all the difference in short form story telling.
The darker themes combined with several shots of what are supposed to be different locations around the world give this short the cyberpunk feel it should have when dealing with an underground movement being pushed forward by people who think they understand their convictions. The character development was also done well which helped given we are told almost nothing about Tyler Haynes character from the beginning other than what we can glean from a few shots of how he carries himself.
Overall it was worth viewing. Check it out below.
