In Crossbow the spoiler is right in front of you, there in the title. A crossbow is an anachronistic device and does not, at least in my mind, lend itself well to analogy or metaphor. In spite, or, more accurately, precisely because this ominous title hangs over the very start of viewing, the short film remarkably sustains a growing dread throughout its languid narration and slow-moving, though arresting visuals; maximizing its force not through the promise of surprise but through the inevitability of its conclusion.

The Young One
1960
6.9/10

The Trigger Effect
1996
5.8/10

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
2010
6.1/10

Come Sunday
2018
5.8/10

Amber Alert
2024
7.0/10

The Reflecting Skin
1990
6.7/10

Sovereign
2025
6.8/10

Suburbia
1984
6.7/10

First Snow
2006
6.1/10

September
1987
6.2/10

The Chumscrubber
2005
6.5/10

Skater Girl
2021
7.3/10

What Maisie Knew
2013
7.1/10

Bad Girl
2016
5.9/10

Hellion
2014
5.9/10

Guilty by Suspicion
1991
6.5/10

The Good Neighbor
2022
6.5/10

Blast from the Past
1999
6.8/10

Marked for Death
1990
6.1/10

The Negotiator
1998
7.1/10
Pvblo
2018
2/10