Have you ever looked into the mirror for a bit too long? Things change. Things look different. Things get weird. But at least your mirror at home is somewhat familiar. Try doing that in a hotel bathroom; you might find something more than unsettling looking back. One man tries this in Room 205.
A man checks into a nondescript hotel room for one night. As night falls, he becomes obsessed with the bathroom mirror, which seems to distort not his reflection, but his perception of himself. His eyes begin to “ see too much” -reality folding into itself – until perception and identity unravel completely.
Room 205
A POV view brings us from a hotel parking lot through a garland-laced lobby and out of the second floor elevator. A man walks to Room 205. Dingy lighting bathes the room in an almost sickly light — that’s when he finds the bathroom mirror and begins a staring contest with something sinister. As he slowly loses his grip with reality, we do too, watching quick cuts to monstrous sights forcing their way into our reality. Room 205 is three minutes of insanity.
Insanity, as in how much can be done in so little time. Unlike some stories, we don’t really need much background here. Room 205 exists solely for these few minutes, telling us everything we need to know through visuals. The camera work is shaky, adding to its POV shots and all-around creepiness. The coloring makes us feel like something is wrong, or that this room isn’t safe. There is a small — but effective — amount of gore. Plus, Room 205‘s ending leaves a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. It’s short and sweet.
Room 205, and other short horror films like it, are fantastic because even though they’re bite-sized, they still leave a dent in your brain. There’s not too much thinking you have to do, which is probably for the best because you can allow yourself to just let the horrors happen on-screen. Room 205 is the type of short that can project extremely low-budget filmmakers onto bigger and even more horrifying things. Its to-the-point plot and simple, no fuss visuals are all you need to leave you feeling off-kilter.
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