A Deadly Desert Dig

A Deadly Desert Dig

Bruce Von Stiers

Working in the desert can be exhausting. Especially when you're digging a bunch of holes in the desert looking for something. And you have limited water and an employer that is a tyrant.

That is the premise for the thriller short film Day9. It was directed by Dastan Khalili. He was the director of several documentaries as well as the action feature, The Way. The production company behind the film was Alliance of Light. They also produced The Way, Master, and Insomnia Manica.

Mason and Reggie are two guys digging a hole in the desert. They are hot and tired. Mason has run out of water in his canteen. But when Mason goes to get more water he runs afoul of their employer, Mr. Dobroth. Mason is berated for not following the schedule for work, breaks and available water. In other words, Mr. Dobroth is a real jerk.

That kind of sets the tone for the whole film. The diggers are hot, tired, thirsty, and disgruntled. The boss is a tyrant who seems to delight in his workers' discomfort.

Besides Mason and Reggie, there are two more people digging holes for Mr. Dobroth. They are Dave and a woman, Dr. Strickland. The four of them have been digging holes in the desert for Mr. Dobroth for eight days. This is now the ninth day of digging.

Due to the conversations between the various workers, it is surmised that they should have left three days earlier. Mr. Dobroth doesn't seem to have an exact location pinned down for what he's looking for. Hence the digging in various locations over the nine days. But what exactly they are looking for, Mr. Doborth isn't letting them know. The only thing the diggers know is whatever they are looking for is worth one hundred million dollars.

In these conversations it is revealed that each of them have had a previous experience with Mr. Dobroth. But do these experiences have anything to do with this dig? And why does Mr. Dobroth feel the need to berate each of the diggers?

There is a slightly funny bit where Mr. Dobroth mentions having paid an exorbitant fee to have the Red Hot Chili Peppers play at his son's birthday party. It was a little strange but was possibly added to the film to show the hubris of Mr. Dobroth.

Mason was played by Will Lupardus. He was in episodes of Pretend Time and co-starred in The Way. Reggie was played by Kelsey Watson. He has been in several films, including the thriller, Dead By Dawn, which I reviewed a couple of years ago. Dave was played by Eric McIntire. He had a recurring role in One Tree Hill and was in the recent thriller, Drawn Into The Night. And Dr. Strickland was played by Johanna Watts. She starred in several short films, co-starred in The Price of Silence and had a role in bullet Train.

And Mr. Dobroth was played by Charles Maze. In his screen appearances, he has played a hotel manager, a mayor, a lawyer, and a pastor.

Day9 was written by Damion Stephens. He has acted in several films and wrote the screenplay for the Ben Savage comedy, Girl Meets Boy. The film was produced by Dastan Khalili, Kevin Marcus, and Ray Wicks. Marcus has produced several documentaries. Wicks helped produce a documentary and a reality show. The cinematographer was Matt Fore. He was the cinematographer on a bunch of short films and several feature films. He also worked behind the scenes in a few top feature films.

Day9 was shot on location at the Trona Pinnacles in the California National Conservation Area.

As they continue to be harassed by Mr. Dobroth, the workers bond in their simmering dislike for him. But why are they sticking around? They are supposedly going to get paid whether or not they find what Mr. Dobroth is looking for.

As things come to a head, the film takes a couple of twists. One you might see coming. But the second twist makes this into an almost noir type of film.

Day9 was an interesting film. It didn't have a lot of high drama, but a lot of angst over the work and how each of the diggers was being treated. When everything hits the boiling point, the result was more than a bit of delicious irony.

Day9 will be a featured presentation at the LA Shorts International Film Festival on July 25th, 2023.

If you want more information about Day9, visit https://allianceoflight.film/

And for information about the LA Shorts International Film Festival, visit https://www.lashortsfest.com/

Back to the BVS Reviews Main Menu

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________