Short film

China Lake

1983 · 34 min

A quietly unnerving descent into a disturbed cop's mind, with sparse desert vistas and a slow-building sense of dread.

Overview: China Lake tells the story of motorcycle cop Donnelly, a man who spends his vacation time driving around on his Harley in the desert highways still dressed in his uniform. Clearly halfway through this short we learn that Donnelly is deeply disturbed and psychopathic after coming across a few people that have upset him in his twisted ideal of what is right and wrong.
How it feels: Dark, tense, eerie and cynical. Slow-burning and needs your attention.
About: Madness, violence, power, isolation
Content: Strong violence. Mild gore and language. No sexual content.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: darkstrength 3 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
eeriestrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: madness
violence
power
isolation
justice
Places: road trip
countryside
small town
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: single location
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex none