The Rift

source: The Rift

Oh man, why so short ! This movie is incredible. Believe me, you can forgive some of the performances, you can forgive little nuances and then you can enjoy an incredible well directed end of the world. The rift tells a story about a young guy helping a "scientist" scan anomalies in the satellite system. The first few minutes are very well spend introducing the characters, no more than it is needed and then the catastrophe. The scenery is very good, the special effects are incredible considering the budget and the way the movie is handled is incredible for such a short movie. Only 25 minutes of your life you WILL remember, yes we all had seen this before but, somehow this is worth watching it. Although the movie ends in the mother of all cliffhangers you will appreciate what it's been done here, wish more movies were built like this. No 1 hour 30 minutes of cheesy dialog, just 25 minutes of focused end of the world, yeah baby! Go see it, you wont regret it although you will want Rift 2.

"The Rift" is an English-language movie from 3 years ago written and directed by rising Swiss star Robert Kouba. He wasn't even 20 when he made these 25-minutes, but this was far from being his first directorial effort as a short film director. He kept making films in the following years and soon his first full feature movie is about to come out. All in all, especially taking his age into account, he did an okay job here. However, I felt that it dragged occasionally despite being a short film. There is nothing really in here that hasn't been done already in terms of mystery, science-fiction or alien films and I wish this could have been a bit more innovative, a bit more creative. The writing and acting could not really convince me either. I'd only really recommend it to fans of the genre.

I just had the pleasure of viewing the Robert Kouba film, The Rift. "Pleasure" is the optimum word. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Many of the characteristics we have come to love from Kouba are present in The Rift, great cinematography, powerful sound and top notch acting. With The Rift running just short of half of an hour we are able to truly see how well he can tell a story. The film fan is not disappointed by the result. I conclude that suspense thriller's plot is well paced and thought out. It has been a pleasure to watch Kouba's films to this point and I look forward to seeing his on going growth and artistic talents in future projects to come.

I am judging this based on almost 24 minutes compared to 24 minutes of any other science fiction film. Well, I was tempted to give in 8 stars, but a short film cannot stand a few minutes of sub par acting as it might be excused in a longer film as long as it was made up for. The lead actor in this movie had some very good moments at the end, but earlier in the film his timing is off and his expressions don't quite communicate enough for a lead. Supporting cast was all fine. The look of the film is great and so is the pace. I think that sometimes there is a real need for some background noise or a soundtrack of some sort, if not music to help the scenes flow better (let's face it, the script can't compete with Sex, Lies and Videotape which has no background music). Nevertheless, I found myself more entertained in 24 minutes that I am for that period of time in most films of the science fiction/horror genre. The special effects were good and mostly believable. Above all, I found myself hoping this team gets a shot at making a feature length 3d film. I would definitely go see it (I typically like to see anything that has many low light scenes on the big screen). The movie inspired me to write my one and only review!

This has to be a joke! I feel sorry for anyone having to pay full price for a movie trailer. This movie was pretty good - acting was mediocre to say the least. Story unfolds as a Russian physicist discovers something extraordinary that was behind the strange radar anomalies he was recording. Something dark, which will eventually alter the path of mankind. Before he could tell anyone, he is mysteriously vanished. Many years later a young physics student Dean Hollister and his discredited physics teacher have become obsessed with the same mystery. What had been a rare phenomenon is suddenly happening all over the world. The day it happens for Dean working a night shift at his mother's diner. Black rifts appear in the sky. Behind those rifts, something is moving. It's watching us. Very creepy climax. jbog Movie (clip) runs no more than 25 min. Save your money and watch it online. The Director must have run out of money to extend this story. It could have been a big "hit".

I love the thriller genre, I love the director R. Kouba, so how could I not watch "The Rift"? My expectations were not disappointed either this time, so I have no doubt to say that this is a masterpiece. A young scientist and his professor back to the present some studies done, a few decades earlier, by a Russian physicist, mysteriously vanished. These studies involve the appearance of mysterious and disturbing rift in the sky, whose presence doesn't bode well. In fact, the protagonist doesn't know what is going to happen: something disconcerting, that will endanger his life and that of his loved ones. I don't want to anticipate anything more to not spoil the surprise for those who are going to see the short film! I also appreciated soundtrack and shooting because they help to create the right atmosphere for each scene of the film .

Spoiler Alert! Main character can't stop staring! Stares at the wall,stares in the distance and stares into the camera. He's a little stare bear. The production was amateurish,the music from 70's cop shows and the plot borrowed from Stephen King's "The Mist."To the good side the production values are decent,(better than SyFy)and everyone seems to be trying hard. Obviously the producer is looking for funding to extend this short film and if he changed some of the actors,(STARE!)and tidied it up a bit it could make a decent series. A good effort if it's coming out of a film school. I applaud them for what they got done for $20,000.This is the first time I have seen Robert Kouba's work as a director and I am impressed at what he achieved for so little money.All in all it won't hurt your eyes to watch it.

wow,this little movie....my main thing I want to say..i wish it could have kept going... I understand the budget reasons...but that movie was a winner. you don't get many fantasy horror movies much anymore..and they are my favourite....few and far between...because I think audiences demand reality and answers to every question about the plot...about why6 this and that happened ...but with fantasy horror or sci-fi..it relies on imagination.....it needs to be able to grab the audience into the world the makers wanted you to see....I don't think it was like Stephen kings the mist....but the film is much shorter than the mist also...it had so much potential to me..... still its also a good short film......more monster movies please!!!!!!!!!!

I have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to screen The Rift. This is a Short Film debut release from the newly formed Vantis Pictures. The Director is Robert Kouba and his most ambitious project to date. The score I gave this film is a refection of the parts and it's "weight class". It's not fair to judge a debut micro budget short as if it was a major studio release. There is a lot to be excited about in general from Vantis Pictures and Robert Kouba. First thing that struck me was the quality of the equipment used. The camera work was excellent and lighting too. These are little things new directors often do poorly on. The casting of Eileen Grubba was great, she was a stand out. The CGI and editing were also really strong points. Robert Kouba may be young, but he has a firm grasp of movie making mechanics. I expect big things from him in the future...along with big budgets comes big responsibility. Now let's focus a little sharper on the issues I had with The Rift. You would think with the great equipment and skill level on the mechanics it would be a slam dunk winner. Unfortunately this is more of a calling card than a movie. More attention was put into the craftsmanship than the actual story. Outside of Grubba, the cast was sub par. For having such a small script (18-20 pages?) it wasn't very tight. Normally with new Directors the one thing in their control is the story and script and they lack the tools or skill. This is backwards. There was nothing new. The characters were stereotypes and the dialogue was hard to listen too. Even the really well done special effects were familiar, from 10 different movies. In summary I think Robert Kouba is capable of making some really great films in his future, but I hope he puts as much effort in having something to say in his next movie as he does making it look good. ~Todd at the movies