The Siege Review

The Siege is a 2020 short film directed by Mark Lakatos.

In a world where action films have taken on a stellar resurgence in the last few years, a film like The Siege has high aspirations that at times work really well, but in others not so much.

One of the strangest decisions in this short was the sheer lack of any score. It is something that isn’t for lack of trying, as by the end credits we are delivered a high-octane piece to close things out with the credits. Having musical accompaniment is of course a stylistic choice, but one can’t help but to miss it while watching.

As stated from the start, we live in a world where action films have been given a bit of a renaissance period thanks to such work as John Wick really raising the bar to a high degree. While of course an expectation for that same level in indie short films might be a bit of a stretch, it is still something one has to remember going in. That being said, there is a lot of obvious influence from such films at play here. The only problem is that the ultimate results are unfortunately a little mixed.

For starters, the mixing of the action style hits and sound effects just doesn’t have a lot of power to them, sounding a little compressed. While the choreography is done well enough, there is at times a bit of an obvious pulling of hits going on as well. Using the long shaky camera style approach is something that can work, the lack of cutting in some moments only heightens when the choreography just doesn’t work at times.

Outside of all of this there is still an engaging story with simple but effective characters. From the start we know who are villain is and we see the high stakes on display nicely. Some elements might not work, but the sense of place and style is very well done.

This is a bit of a conflicting one as there is a lot for action lovers to enjoy here, but there are also some things that just don’t hit hard enough as well. There was clearly a lot of amazing effort put into the short. What is clear to see is a team that will continue to push on with more exciting productions, where hopefully just a few more pieces can form the whole puzzle in a strong manner.

To follow on social media: Mark Lakatos and Krav Maga Global.

Cheers!

Daniel Hess

Film Festival and Award Highlights:

The Lift-Off Sessions

Honorable Mention – London Seasonal Short Film Festival

Best Director- Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival

Best Thriller- London Indie Short Festival of 24 Frames

Best Action Short- Super Indie Los Angeles Film Festival

Best Action Short- Hollywood Independent Film Awards

Best Action Short- Vesuvius International Film Festival

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