Forever War, A Short Film, 2024

"My thesis film Forever War combines the tropes of the zombie horror and time loop speculative fiction genres as a metaphor for the existential dread of being trapped in a futile situation. The inclusion of talking zombies adds a unique element to the well-known horror trope, creating a moral dilemma for the protagonist and enhancing the audience's anxiety. The motif of video games highlights the contrast between the excitement of war games such as Call of Duty—which are themselves endless loops— versus the reality of actual warfare's degradation of the human spirit. Using the theme of parents harming their children, the story dramatizes the corrosive generational legacy of military service spun as a proud family tradition. The ending of the film reveals there is truly no escape, even in peace, when one has committed to a no-win situation, which was the protagonist's decision to follow in his father's footsteps." -- Abstract