Some folks feel that, when asked to do a favor, we should always make sure what it is first rather than being quick to say “Sure!” Director Izzy Lee’s darkly comic horror short A Favor offers a perfect example of why that philosophy is a wise one.
As Jackson (Shaun Callaghan) settles in to watch a football game and eat a questionable plate of nachos, his friend Liz calls. Viewers only hear his end of the conversation but it is clear that she is asking him to do a favor. He goes to her house and his task is revealed. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that this is a horror short and the genre usually requires that at least one body be involved.
Shaun Callaghan hits the right humorous notes as Jackson, giving the character a put-upon everyman vibe and diving into the role with mischievous glee. Callaghan carries most of the film but is aided by a few other actors. Steven Lawlor Jones gives a fun turn as another friend of Liz’s, and in a brief but important appearance, Diana Porter portrays Liz. Jose Guns Alves also has an important smaller role but I won’t reveal what it is so that readers can go into A Favor spoiler free.
Izzy Lee directs Christopher Hallock’s screenplay and paces the proceedings skillfully. She balances the humor and the horror admirably, and viewers are treated to both verbal and physical comical styles along with some impressive gore effects and cringe-inducing foley work.
Shayne Gryn provides a wickedly cool synth soundtrack and viewers are also treated to a catchy rock song by the duo Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling over the closing credits.
Izzy Lee is a prolific filmmaker working in the horror short genre. Nihil Noctem Films’ (http://www.nihilnoctem.com) A Favor was my introduction to her output and I definitely plan on watching her other work soon.
A Favor screened at the Scream Queen Filmfest Tokyo tour event in Nagoya, Japan, in February 2016.
A Favor: 
(3.5 / 5)
He is a contributing writer for the "Phantom of the Movies VideoScope" and “Drive-In Asylum” print magazines and the websites Horror Fuel, Diabolique Magazine, The Scariest Things, B&S About Movies, and When It Was Cool. He is a co-host of the "Uphill Both Ways" pop culture nostalgia podcast and also writes for its website. Joseph occasionally proudly co-writes articles with his son Cohen Perry, who is a film critic in his own right.
A former northern Californian and Oregonian, Joseph has been teaching, writing, and living in South Korea since 2008.
