Short Film: (In Here) I am God

When I was contacted by Byron C. Miller about the Director’s Cut of his film Night he also mentioned a short film that he wrote the screenplay for and edited, entitled (In Here) I am God. He described it as “a silent era film filled with vampire imagery.”

The film has actually won several awards and was directed by Joseph Seuferling. It was released in 2018 and runs in at around the 8-minute mark.

When Miller describes it as a silent era film, it is in terms of the use of intertitles and a wonderful classical score. The film is also gloriously coloured. It begins with an intertitle that tells us, “Deep beneath the frozen Eastern Front, a ruthless general makes his plans.” We start however with his secretary (Tiffany Astrid) dressed in a Vampira style – one wonders about the practicality of typing with her nails.

the general

The general, credited as the Monster (Nima Forghani), phones demanding his food. The general is bald with pointed ears, almost looking like Orlock but his nose is slits. The uniform makes one think of fascism. She reaches for one of three funeral urns with pictures pasted upon them and takes one to the general. He forces her to stay and dine with him. He takes white powder (ashes) from the urn, declaring it a good vintage, and cuts lines and snorts it. He is accosted with images.

the woman

The film is a barrage of symbolism. There is a soldier (Douglas Mckenney) under his command and we see the general decry the woman as a traitor and tell the soldier to kill her. We see flashes of traditional fangs, belonging to the woman. The General takes blood as a condiment to brains that are served to him. The film’s official site explains that the short “shines a light on many dark aspects of society. the primary focus being the deep struggle of women in a male dominated society where authoritarian men dictate the repression of sexuality and complete freedom.”

The imdb page is here.