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The Flirtation from Jesse Calhoun on Vimeo.


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Due to the limited resources involved with both of these shoots, there is obvious affinity between the two. The locations are the same, the camera work is very similar, and the actors are the same. There is, however, a contrast between the two in terms of execution. While both scripts handled the joke in a manner other than outright comedic telling, "The Flirtation" ended up being a bit more ambiguous than "Thursday the 13th", which reads as a fairly blatant parody horror short. In that sense, The Flirtation is more of an active film, leading the audience to create their own interpretation, while Thursday is more didactic.

In The Flirtation, there is also more active metaphor and symbolism. The elevator is not just an elevator, as it is in the Thursday piece. In The Flirtation, the elevator is a symbol for the man's journey into Hell, which he is unable to escape due to the damning nature of his actions, such as hitting on a woman when he is married, etc. The realization of the symbolism causes a rather abrupt change in rhythm. What was a cute, simple back and forth becomes suddenly sinister as the man realizes his fate. The same can be said for Thursday. Once the ambiguity is removed and its revealed that the woman is actually a murderer, the slow, quiet rhythm of the film is suddenly changed into a shocking horror film.

In both films, space was utilized in order to create an atmosphere of unease. Since both shorts take place in an elevator, the characters are confined in a flat space with the camera, making it more intimate and, ultimately, more uncomfortable. There is no source of escape for either of the protagonists in the films as they are confined in the tight space with their antagonist.