Of course I love the zombie short.  There’s lots of reasons to enjoy this entire subgenre for its accessibility and its simplicity.  Of course, not every one is done well, so you always have to be on the lookout for the lousy ones.

But sometimes, you can get a real winner of a short film, and The Essentials manages to do exactly that.

We join a young man, clearly in the midst of a post-Zombie Apocalypse survival mode.  He’s carefully testing doors, and upgrading his weaponry when he can, and all the while looking for food and all those other needful things that keep life going.  But when he’s surprised by a lone shambler, will his careful lifestyle come to naught?

Now, this is actually really well done.  Sure, there are no blood effects, or dialogue, but these things, oddly enough, would actually just be trappings for a really good performance on the part of their lead and one big surprise waiting at the end.

It’s understated, it’s simple, and it’s incredibly effective.

The Screenhead Ten Scale rewards this little out of nowhere gem with a seven out of ten for doing its job terribly well.