Everyone Laugh At Leanne is a thirteen-minute short from writer/director M W Daniels (House Of Lexi, Emily’s Hands). It’s one of those films where nothing is what it seems at first, and just what is real isn’t quite clear.

Leanne (Kerry Newton, Dragon Kingdom) has a nice house and handsome boyfriend Eddie (Tom Coulston). But as her voice over tells us, she’s not really happy. Friends say she seems nervous. That’s about to get worse. While out on a walk she sees her two best friends Lily (Jodie O’Rourke) and Francine (Josie O’Rourke) knocking on her door.

Before she can shout to them a strange woman answers the door only to be beaten to death by the hammer-wielding women. When she returns to her house there’s no trace of the crime. Is she going mad? Or is there something else going on?

Daniels makes great use of lighting and distorted images to reinforce the odd events rather than dialogue explaining it. And the lack of explanation makes Everyone Laugh At Leanne that much more effective. The film simply presents the events and leaves the viewer to decide what they’ve seen.

Viewers who don’t need a film to spoon-feed them answers will appreciate Everyone Laugh At Leanne the most. Others may feel a bit confused or cheated by the lack of concrete answers. However, at just under a quarter of an hour, there’s no real reason not to give it a chance if you get the opportunity.

Everyone Laugh At Leanne playing the festival circuit. You can get updates on screening on the film’s Facebook page.