2023 HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
A young mechanic (Celina Bernstein) is attempting to make a name for herself in a world that is run by men. When she’s finally given the opportunity to prove that she knows what she’s talking about, the car she’s working on rejects her. Ride Baby Ride is a horror story where a woman is pitted against a car–and only the strong will survive.
I think it’s impossible to watch Ride Baby Ride and not at least think back to the John Carpenter classic Christine. Just to be mentioned in the same breath as that famous film is a feat in itself, something that many films aren’t capable of achieving. However, just to be mentioned in the same breath isn’t necessarily enough to claim that the film itself is good–and in this case Ride Baby Ride has to use its short runtime to create separation from that aforementioned film and make a name for itself. Writer-Director Sofie Somoroff instantly sets herself and her film up for success by narrowing the scope of the film.
Ride Baby Ride is focused on one thing and one thing only, the relationship between the car and the mechanic in question–and the film never veers from this point. The film opens on the mechanic leaning over the car, analyzing it, and expressing her thorough understanding of its condition. Fast forward a few minutes and the mechanic is seen getting into the car–prepared to fix what ails it. Again, the scope of this film is quite small, and it never takes viewers outside of this one, isolated incident–and that works wonders for Ride Baby Ride. Viewers remain focused on this relationship, and they have no choice but to see and appreciate the many nuances of the car and its interactions with the mechanic. Again, narrowing that scope and focusing on one specific incident does so much for Ride Baby Ride, and it allows the film to come to life in a series of engaging and entertaining ways.
This film relies heavily on the ability of Director of Photography Gemma Doll-Grossman–as viewers are always effectively sitting in the car with the mechanic, a tight and less-than-ideal place to film. However, if Doll-Grossman can’t pull this off, the intimate nature of what Somoroff is trying to create fails, and so does Ride Baby Ride. This team does a stellar job of capturing everything from the opening moments until the film comes to an end–and the interactions between the mechanic and the car are fantastic as a result, allowing Ride Baby Ride to thrive in this regard.
I can’t quite understand the sexual innuendos that exist in the film; they just seem out of place and unnecessary. The title Ride Baby Ride sort of hints at something sexual, like somehow it’s trying to warn us that the film will contain sexual content, but that warning seems to be for nothing. The sexual content is unwarranted, and it ultimately has no bearing on the story whatsoever. The opening moments of the film are crude for no reason, adding additional time and content to a story where it didn’t belong.
It was an interesting decision to humanize the car in the way that Somoroff does. I don’t think that she needs to go as far as she does for viewers to understand what’s happening, or to appreciate that the car is very much a character in this production. Somoroff, however, goes the extra mile and finds new ways to bring this car to life throughout the course of Ride Baby Ride–further developing this character every step of the way.
How scary can an anthropomorphic car really be? Can it actually terrify viewers, or will it just come off as cheesy and fail to entertain? That really depends on the direction that the writer and director wants to take the film, how they are able to develop the car, and whether or not viewers are able to see everything taking place. Ride Baby Ride is a short horror film that takes this idea and blows it up. While it takes place on a very small scale, Somoroff and this team do everything that they can to strengthen the character of the car from beginning to end–leading to a well-developed horror film, and an overall entertaining project.
Written & Directed by Sofie Somoroff.
Starring Celina Bernstein, Anthony Richard Pagliaro, & Sam H. Clauder II.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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