A man carries a body across a foggy landscape, hoping the book he possesses will show him the route to bringing life back to his lost love. Juggernaut is a 20-minute short set in a medieval fantasy world with magical runes and powers beyond our imagination. But not all powers are understood, and not all are merciful.
A literal or metaphorical force, object, or organization that is overwhelmingly powerful, unstoppable, and seemingly capable of crushing anything in its path
Juggernaut, /หjษษกษrหnรดt/, noun.
A picturesque coastline with a beautiful woman overlooking the water comes to an abrupt end as her nose starts to bleed. Cutting to our main character, the man traverses vast landscapes — forest, mountaintops, lost caverns — following the guides laid out in a shrouded book. Grotesque, hand drawn pictures of bones, twisted limbs, and unintelligible writing graces its pages. The man knows he must fight to return life to the woman. As he battles an unstoppable force, he must reckon with his own mortality, as well as the so-called new “life” his love has been given.
Juggernaut is dialog free, but honestly, no words need be said in this fantasy world. When your acting is as impeccable as it was here, the audience can feel every ounce of heartbreak, excitement, and sorrow shown on the faces of its characters. As we travel with the man to his final destination, an air of mystery and secrecy fill the surrounding area. Even without being able to read the book, we know it contains horrible, unimaginable things and that the man must make major sacrifices for what the book is promising to do. His eyes reveal everything from giving up to hope.
And as there are in many medieval-set stories, Juggernaut has a fight scene bathed in spotlights from above shining down on rusted armor and glinting off of swords. At this point, we’re not sure who the titular Juggernaut is — the man, or the creature he is pinned against — since both put up a powerful fight (with great choreography, I might add). As someone who doesn’t partake in fantasy films, the whole pretense of a knight going to battle wouldn’t normally interest me; in Juggernaut, though, there is so much context and thought put behind the scene that made me instantly attach to it, hoping for an outcome that would make this all worthwhile.
But alas, that outcome never really arises. The book’s instructions hold true in bringing life back to the lost, yet we find out that it isn’t all what it seems. The Juggernaut in question is indeed the force hidden in the underground ruins, forever waiting for its next host body. At this point, the film enters horror territory — but not just horror… extreme dismay.
Juggernaut is gorgeous and such a treat to look at, not just in terms of setting and landscape, but of color grading, stark contrasts, shadows, and closeups of weary eyes. This short exudes emotion, urging you to feel without thinking. And those feelings swing you around and drop you flat on your back. The horrors we see are those contained in the heart and the knowledge that this cycle is endless. In Juggernaut, there is hope — yet there is also none.
Juggernaut is streaming now on WeShort.
