It must be a real bummer for a hitman to discover his next hit is someone he knows. In director Nathan Terlich’s short film The Hit, a member of the Australian mob is sent to kill a relative. In what is clearly a test of his loyalty, Michael (Marty Rhone) must choose between family and duty.

“…a member of the Australian mob is sent to kill a relative…”
It’s not made clear exactly what relationship Michael has with the target (Matt Higgs), but it’s mentioned that Michael is tied to his mother in some way. To the film’s credit, it doesn’t try to over-explain the situation or offer spoon-fed exposition. The connection and conflict between characters are expressed between the lines and through body language.
However, the film does leave a lot to be desired. Rather than feeling like a story with a beginning, middle, and end, it feels more like a scene lifted out of a longer film. I suppose it wants to spark interest in a feature-length version, but unfortunately, The Hit doesn’t present anything particularly fresh to a story we’ve seen many times before that would lead you to want to see the longer film.