Family Game Night (Short Film)
“A family invites a stranger over for dinner and to participate in family game night. The Stanger quickly learns this is a game he has never played before”

Family Game Night is a short enjoyable film that recently came to my attention. The short is directed by Nicholas Ferwerda & written by Jon Kohan and is listed as suitable for ages 8 and up. That being said I watched it with my sometimes co-host Brandan, who is 11 years old, to get a younger perspective. We both agreed as soon as the film was over that we both wished it was longer, maybe even episodic. The film is 11 minutes long with each minute adding to the story.

At the start we meet a family who is just sitting down to dinner and awaiting one more member. Everything comes across normal for a typical family like reminding their teen son not to use the cell phone at the dinner table. A family that has a family game night comes across like a good wholesome family with values. Even when their older teen daughter shows up with a stranger who she invited to dinner and family game night, the family is very accommodating and welcoming.  As things get darker the mood becomes creepy, especially as the family remains smiling and cheerful.

With the story now hitting its dark turn the family still remains acting like a real family, with complaints and arguing from the two teens and the father having to yell at them. Things get a little messy in the basement of the film, but I’ll leave that for those who plan on seeing the film to find out for themselves.

The film has a campy comedy feel to it even through the horror scenes. As we watched the film Brandan felt it was slightly predictable, but that’s doesn’t make it bad. Knowing what will most likely happen next and seeing it happen are two different things.

Family Game Night is an enjoyable short film that introduces a friendly family who you’ll want to see more of. The film serves as a good start to a possible larger story that I hope might come in the future from Ferwerda & Kohan. Both Brandan & myself enjoyed the film and spoke about it for a while afterwards with ideas of what could continue the story. We both agreed maybe a little more gore, but then again that would not make it suitable for children… well some children. We both agree, guys… we want more.