Spider, the viral short film that laid the foundations of the Jack trilogy, based on the experiences of Nash Edgerton, who plays Jack and co-writes all 3 installments with his colleague and fellow countryman David Michôd, responsible for three other gems such as Animal Kingdom, The Rover and The King.
Spider is characterized by a very naturalistic and fluid mise-en-scene, filmed by the now highly sought-after Greig Fraser. In Spider we follow the couple Jill and Jack as they drive around Sydney in a classic lemon Peugeot. Jill is played by fellow director Mirrah Foulkes, who we discovered in the aforementioned Animal Kingdom. In Spider, the protagonist couple is in the throes of an argument, where Jill's silences increase the tension. Jack awkwardly tries to patch things up with his girlfriend. We don't know the exact reason for the discord, but it doesn't seem to be the first time Jack screws up and the only thing he can think of to say is that it was a joke. Something that Jill will throw in his face, for taking things too far. Alluding to Jack's mother's foreboding advice at the beginning: "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye". This is where Jack's inner conflict comes to the fore, where his romantic side clashes diametrically with his compulsive prankster and catalyst, increasing the suspense of the short.
The tone of the short film is absurd, tragic and humorous at the same time, without being as raunchy as Jackass. Curiously, one can identify with it, there is a very real couple fight, universal fears such as spiders and needles, which achieve a communion with the audience and not only remains in the final anecdote. The consequences of Spider's Karma, is an idea that Nash Edgerton would go on to explore in 2008's "The Square", his feature debut, written and co-starring his brother Joel.
*A more detailed review can be found on the youtube channel Kristonkino.
