Rasp (2017) 💀💀½

 

In his short film Rasp, Danny Donahue taps into primal urban fears with mixed results. The contained setting, a small home in a city, draws upon the focus of many a city dweller's source of dread - the unknown knock at the door during the night. The opening use of Dutch angle, coupled with the insistent staccato rapping upon the door, creates an effective atmosphere of unease.

The tension builds with each return to the door: first comes the raspy voice, then a glimpse of something monstrous through the peephole, followed by increasingly violent demands for entry. Yet this escalation never quite delivers on its promise. While the last of the jump scares is effective, one of the most chilling moments in the build up (a shadowy figure suddenly visible in the background), frustratingly, never pays off. Whether it was merely meant as a bit of misdirection is unclear, but that hanging thread hints that there could've been something darker here.

Jamie Daniels is well cast as the nervous resident. His reactions, ranging from caution, irritation, and even bravado, feel realistic. Just as there are seven stages of grief, here we see the four stages of answering the door late at night play out before us. Anyone who has ever lived in a major city will recognize the steps as they play out.

While this isn't a bad film, it also isn't a great one. Daniels' performance is solid, and the cinematography is clean, sadly the story itself feels underdeveloped. In fairness though, for something that went from concept to film in a matter of 3-4 days, one can appreciate the accomplishment. Rasp might have benefited from another minute of story development, and similar concepts are better realized in Donahue's 2020 film Beast of Prey which, once again, relies on something unseen on the other side of a door to evoke a sense of dread.

Rasp shows promise but ultimately delivers only a portion of its potential.

2017 ✶ 3m ✶ Color ✶ US ✶ Director: Danny Donahue ✶ Screenplay: Danny Donahue ✶ Music: Jay Heller ✶ Starring: Jamie Daniels (Man) ✶ Vimeo.