By Simon Thompson
Writer/director Peter Klausner’s Stomach It is a visceral, yet strangely charming, piece of body horror brimming with originality. Through a tense and punchy thirteen minutes the audience comes to understand the external and internal struggles of the short’s protagonist. Fair warning however, if you don’t have a particularly strong stomach for body horror, avoid Stomach It at all costs because this is a short which hitches its wagon to that sub-genre without question.
The plot of Stomach It focuses on a crime scene cleaner (Jon Lee Richardson), who struggles to detach himself emotionally from the death that he comes into contact with day after day. Over time the cleaner comes to believe that he is being haunted by some kind of monstrous creature that wants to hurt him.
Klausner is a filmmaker who understands the “show don’t tell” rule to a t, as much of the short’s narrative is conveyed through clever visual storytelling and editing rather than clunky expository dialogue. Within less than three minutes of time, the audience is able to understand who the protagonist is and what he is going through, without the need to have to slow down the pace via dialogue.
The cinematography, by Emily Tapanes, helps to create a look that is very similar to a Darren Aronofsky movie in the sense that it mixes both naturalistic everyday interiors with a stylised use of colour and tight angles to create a powerful sense of foreboding. Through Tapanes’s cinematography even something as simple as the protagonist’s home, helps to portray a strong sense of alienation, and, that no matter where the cleaner goes he will always be stuck taking his work with him.
Jon Lee Richardson’s performance as the protagonist is excellent. Richardson gives an almost silent movie- like turn as the cleaner, using small gestures and acting with his eyes to give the audience a sense of the cleaner’s struggles. Even really great actors want a great scene partner to play off, so for Richardson to be the sole presence we see on screen and to carry the short in the way that he did is an impressive feat indeed.
Overall, Stomach It is a short film that is worth your time and attention if you can handle its extreme imagery. Shorts as daring and fresh as this one don’t come around very often, so when a thirteen minute piece of filmmaking is as good as Stomach It it’s truly something to cherish.
Stomach It screened as part of Panic Fest 2025.
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