Mickey Martinez is back at it again with a new slasher short: With Your Life. Brought to you by Freakish Films, this proof-of-concept portrays generational trauma and the horrors that come with it, as well as characters’ abilities to rise and break free from their cycle of abuse.
With Your Life follows a battered wife who makes a courageous attempt to escape her abusive husband, with her young daughter in tow. The story captures the harrowing fight for freedom as the desperate husband stops at nothing to prevent them from leaving, presenting a chilling tale of survival, courage, and the emotional scars that span generations.
With Your Life Press Release
In six-and-a-half minutes, we’re brought into a whirlwind of family turmoil. A split screen shows us nighttime images of a quiet household asleep, not showing anything amiss — just yet. A car drives up. A woman rises from her bed with a blackened eye. We as viewers are immediately thrown into a desperate escape from domestic violence, the ultimate fight for freedom. As the title suggests, she must do whatever she can to save herself and her daughter.
With every scene, With Your Life oozes tension. Every sound made, every person involved could unknowingly cause unfettered violence and rage. I genuinely have not felt this on-edge since Misery. Our main character, Luisa (played by Jude Salazar), tries her best to make it out of the house without disturbing her abusive husband (and keeping her baby quiet); Salazar does an amazing job as a woman on the run, but also a woman with a mission to live.
And for a second, I almost forgot it was a slasher — until the slashing starts. If the threat of domestic violence wasn’t enough, husband Javier (Luis Carazo) is also a stone-cold killer. Blood, chase scenes, a creepy mask, and the biggest knife I have ever seen are all included in this short film, adding layer upon layer of horror. And if that wasn’t enough, the With Your Life proof-of-concept closes with a mish-mash of scenes and feelings from the past six minutes, flashing into Luisa’s head.
With Your Life is a short look into the reality of domestic violence, from the actual violence to the torment to one’s psyche. Martinez and crew beautifully captured that there is hope, though. You too can escape with your life.
Check out With Your Life at the Culver City Film Festival (tickets available here). Give writer/director Mickey Martinez a follow on Instagram, as well as the film itself.
Help is available. Contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-SAFE (7233).
