CASH ONLY

Written and Directed by Derek M. Koch
Edited by Matthew Rashleigh
Director of Photography - Derek M. Koch

Drake - Jay Greenfield
Bar Owner - Shannon Henry

Now this is guerrilla filmmaking! Quick, merciless, and reaches straight for the jugular. Director Derek M. Koch delivers an ass-kicking short film about a mullet-sporting, killer-for-hire named Drake. His specialty, zombies. His price, high. Preferred payment, cash only.

Working with limited means and an abundance of style, Koch's story revolves around our anti-hero being called in to help a barkeep with a problem she has out back. "One day they just showed up," she says nonchalantly. To hear these people talk you would think zombie infestations happened all the time, like rats in New York City. The rules for killing these nasties comes straight from the Living Dead films, you gotta scramble their brains.

Drake is a cat who's all business. He demands payment upon completion and compensation for any unexpected dirty work. Drake is so cocksure about himself that he only packs a single bullet for each anticipated zombie. What he doesn't know is that are a few more than the barkeep knew about.

The gore effects are ambitious for a movie this small, but they come off nice and grisly. I can understand why the filmmakers won the awards they have. Everything is solid and clean…well that's not entirely true. When the blood start flowing, things get messy.

The only downside to this film is the soundmix. It was refreshing to hear music that created true atmosphere rather than the uninspired punk, which spoils many underground productions. The music added a slow gin, southern feel. The same can't be said for the dialogue. Looping in a little room tone in shots that didn't match up would improve the overall production. The background noise, or at times the lack there of, was too distracting. If you can't drop background hum from your soundtrack, consider adding it to the shots without, it adds consistency.

Something I've found interesting in all the short films that have been sent to me is that there is groundwork for a much larger story. There is history that needs to be explored and tales to unfold. CASH ONLY is no exception. Drake has been around the block a few times and I for one wouldn't mind seeing where the guys been.

You can purchase CASH ONLY directly from Dead End Pictures/