When the End Is Just the Beginning

Read Time:5 Minute, 8 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Up/Down
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Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 11m
Director(s): Michael Cooke
Writer(s): Michael Cooke
Cast: Michael Cooke, Hunter Bishop, Simon Weir, Seylan Baxter, David Forrest
Where to Watch: TBA

RAVING REVIEW: There’s a moment early in UP / DOWN that encapsulates its entire thesis—John Karlston (Michael Cooke) finds himself in a fluorescent-filled waiting room that looks more like a medical clinic than the afterlife. The receptionist tells him to sit tight. What’s he waiting for? That’s the question the entire short film dances around with precision and just enough bite to leave an impression long after its 11-minute runtime ends.

Directed, written, and starring Michael Cooke, UP/DOWN is a compact, high-concept existential short that turns an abstract question—where do we go when we die?—into a conversation with unsettling specificity. Less a religious take on the afterlife and more a moral interrogation chamber with drywall and flickering lights, the film fuses surreal atmosphere with grounded human emotion, resulting in a moody and thoughtful piece that never overstays its welcome.

The story centers around John, a man whose sudden death places him not in heaven or hell, but in a sort of purgatorial waiting room. It’s here he encounters Angel (Hunter Bishop), an unnervingly calm presence with a clipboard and a gentle voice, and a series of figures who aren’t exactly what they seem. At the same time, UP/DOWN strips away the comedy and leans into something far more ambiguous—less about judgment and more about self-confrontation.

Cooke’s performance as John is strong enough to anchor the film. He gives the character a genuine arc—one that begins in confusion and spirals toward self-reckoning without falling into melodrama. There’s no exposition dump; instead, Cooke lets John’s silence and posture do the heavy lifting. The weight of a life, perhaps not fully understood, is always just under the surface. And that uncertainty becomes the film’s emotional spine.

Bishop plays Angel with a perfect blend of calm detachment and faint unease, never revealing too much and always just cryptic enough to make you question their intent. The rest of the ensemble—Simon Weir as a priestly figure, Seylan Baxter as the receptionist, and David Forrest as a mysterious man in the waiting room—all contribute to the short’s tone. No one feels quite “real,” and that’s by design.

Visually, the film makes a strong impression on a modest budget. Kasparas Vidunes’ cinematography emphasizes claustrophobia—tight framing, flat lighting, and sterile compositions create an aesthetic that feels like a purgatory of bureaucracy rather than a realm of brimstone. This isn’t hell by fire; it’s hell by delay.

There’s also a haunting quality to the sound design by Ben Gruber, with an original score by Emily Frances Ippolito that subtly builds tension without ever overwhelming the dialogue. The music supports the mood rather than dictating it, allowing the discomfort to seep in gradually. The entire soundscape contributes to the feeling that something’s not quite right—even when nothing explicitly happens.

Thematically, UP/DOWN explores the fear of ambiguity. What if, at the end of our lives, we weren’t punished or rewarded but simply forced to sit and consider the sum of our choices? What if there was just a question, maybe a conversation, and a growing awareness of what we’ve left unresolved? The film’s title cleverly reflects this tension. Will John go “up” or “down”? Or will he remain stuck in between, uncertain and unknowing?

If there’s a criticism to be made, it’s that UP/DOWN occasionally feels like a sketch of a larger idea. The characters hint at deeper backstories and implications that the short’s runtime can’t fully unpack. I wanted more, I wanted to explore more of this universe, or more clearly define its rules. Although that restraint also works in the film’s favor, it leaves room for interpretation, encouraging you to fill in the blanks with your questions.

Cooke’s short doesn’t attempt to moralize. It doesn’t lecture. It just presents a moment, frozen in time, where a man’s fate hangs in the balance and the answer might not come. For a film with such existential weight, UP/DOWN remains refreshingly stripped-down, both literally and metaphorically. There is a lingering feeling, like static, that perhaps the biggest judgment comes from within. With this, Michael Cooke continues to demonstrate a keen eye for crafting deeply personal storytelling within conceptual frameworks. He’s not just asking where we go when we die—he’s asking if we’re even ready to face the question.

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[photo courtesy of MICHAEL COOKE FILMS]

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