Whoever is interested in subjects depicting the ultimate survival into the woods or in harsh situations, must see Killian Davies’s, ‘Instinct’. In this short movie, the viewer will get a basic training for what happens when your plane or helicopter falls down in an unknown territory, and you have to survive, to struggle with the loss of drinkable water or food, to be always prepared in case a wild animal wants to attack and kill you, and to maintain a level of mental peace that is obligatory if you want to get out of there alive and sane.

​

This short resembles in many ways the war movies of the past decade. The plot is simple, and can be deducted from the first minute: a crash, only one survivor, what should he/she do. Of course they will live, of course they will manage to go to the rally point and be saved, and of course they will not wash the dried blood that is all over their face in the river from where the canteen can be filled. We find this way of accentuating the drama of the scene way too pushed over, as the film itself is not that dramatic. The quest of wandering through a deserted land, with only a walkie-talkie that emits a clear and unstressed voice (which seemed a little bit odd), a rifle and a pistol, both with full ammo, has two precise moments when the inevitable twist comes along to save the narrative. Both of the moments are human vs. nature, and more specifically, human vs. animal - Second Lieutenant Foster (played by Rachel Taggatz) shots her gun to feed herself, and also to defend herself from a wild cheetah that put her in danger.

​

‘Instinct’ is the kind of short that has all the potential to become a great feature. If Killian Davies takes this idea and expands it to a ninety minute feature film, the whole plot will have enough time to unravel, and therefore we can bet the result will be majestic.

​

​