12 KILOMETERS is a short film from photographer and film maker Mike Pecci. Inspired by THE THING, it sees a group of Russian oil drillers slowly taken over by a symbiote like substance that leads the band of familiar crew against each other as they unearth the monster that lies past 12 Kilimeters.

 

From the outset one thing is clear, the 30 minutes of runtime are a result of the passion and experience of its film makers and each drop of celluloid is straight from the directors heart.

 

This is not a short to showcase the talent behind the camera but is a thrill to view and only begs the question, why wasn't this funded to be a fully fledged feature film. Pecci had sought funds from kickstarter and the film had been successfully backed in 2015, since then, a labour of love has been pumped into the film as no scene is without its picturesque quality and Pecci's knowledge behind the camera is evident throughout.

 

Each scene is a bauty to watch as it unfolds and that is not all. The sound of 12KM is as powerful as the visual presence itself. Each drop of alienated symbiote is accompanied by a plethora of bass and heartfelt sound that is enough to rival even the biggest Hollywood blockbusters. The only downside is that there isn't enough, a marvel at what could be achieved if the 30 minute scene had the ability to expand and grow into a full length film and depth of the rhyme and reason for what was unfolding onscreen.

 

Imagine THE THING meets UNDER THE SKIN and you are halfway there to imagining the incredible tension and beauty of 12 KILOMETERS. The terror of what lies beneath accompanied by the killer soundtrack is as unnerving as it is addictive.

 

More importantly, this puts Pecci firmly on the map of directors to watch out for and has us lapping up every last drop of tension encapsulated in this short film begging for a full length adaptation to go deeper into the plot of what is merely a scene of the story that needs further exploration.