Earlier this year, director Neill Blomkamp announced his plans to release several short films online under the Oats Studios banner in a bid to circumvent the studio system and bring his stories directly to his audience. Blomkamp’s latest short, Praetoria, is a CGI tale that is over in less than three minutes. But in that very abbreviated run time, Blomkamp and his collaborators paint a compelling portrait of a man haunted by his past and by his own inability to change.
Blomkamp identified the lead character as General Krisch on his Twitter account, and we can infer that Krisch is an intergalactic warrior who has committed countless atrocities in the name of accumulating wealth from across the galaxy. Most of the acting in this short comes from the voices of Krisch’s victims echoing in his mind. Krisch is obviously guilty of these crimes, and yet he’s not inhumane enough to be unmoved by the cries in his head. He appears to be self-aware about the toll his actions have taken on both himself and others. However, Krisch doesn’t appear to have the drive to redeem himself, and instead he continues on the path of his own destruction.
According to Oats Studios’ YouTube page, “Praetoria is a huge galactic story,” and the short is simply a test to see if audiences will respond to it. We’re definitely intrigued by the idea of a Krisch as a leading character, especially if he can’t free himself from his darker impulses. That’s not a story that we usually see out of Hollywood, but that’s what gives it so much potential.
Blomkamp does seem to be looking forward to revisiting Praetoria, and he couldn’t resist showing off one of the vehicle designs from that world that didn’t make it into the short.
One of our favourite vehicles from Praetoria pic.twitter.com/3rtqgNz2mf
— Neill Blomkamp (@NeillBlomkamp) November 4, 2017
What did you think about Praetoria and its deeply flawed protagonist? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: Oats Studios
