Review for ‘‘Bed Bugs’’ by Christos Samaras

Bed Bugs is a very short yet quite innovative film written, directed and produced by Christos Samaras, that plays more like an experimental stage play rather than a conventional movie.

From the first second we find ourselves inside the mind of the sole anxiety-ridden and overthinking protagonist, as signified by a featureless space broken up only by a bed and some furniture. Within his chosen runtime the writer torments his protagonist with insomnia, social anxiety, nosophobia, desperation, depression, all showcased with varying degrees of subtlety by Griffin Ostrowski's expert acting.

Perhaps the film's most defining feature are the changing colors that flood the scene during each of the protagonist's individual breakdowns, in addition to great and clean camera angles, atmospheric lighting and sound design and an adequate soundtrack otherwise. The quality of the dialogue, both as written and delivered is crisp and without unnecessary exaggerations or flair.

At the end of the day, Bed Bugs adds to a long line of single-protagonist, single-room films that explore the human psyche, yet the technical aptitude and tight pace prevent it from feeling derivative. Especially given its status as a student film, the creator's first project, we're keeping our eyes on an artist with great potential in the experimental space.