An orphan wants revenge on the creature.


VILLAIN is used with permission from Sparky Tehnsuko. Learn more at   / tehnsuko  .


Georgia has lost everything. The young girl watched her family home burn down in the countryside, killing her family inside of it. And now she wants to destroy the dragon that killed them.

Resourceful, brave and strong, she tracks the creature down to its lair. But when she ventures within, she discovers something she did not expect, one that makes her question the very heart of her mission. Now she must decide whether to let go of her desire for revenge or embrace the new possibilities she discovers.

Directed and written by Sparky Tehnsuko, this thrilling short fantasy drama stars LAST OF US star Bella Ramsey as a courageous, plucky young girl whose own inner fire pushes her to pursue a dangerous mission, one whose dark emotional intensity might burn her in its accomplishment. Told with little to no dialogue, the storytelling pulls viewers into a detailed and specific world that's both impressive and immersive, weaving in an emotional arc around the choice between revenge and benevolence.

Part of the short's spell-binding quality is its evocation of a medieval fantasy world, from a decimated rural home devastated by dragon fire at night to that dragon's ominously dark lair to the creature itself, brought to life by remarkable visual and practical effects. Shot with impressively rich cinematography, it all works in service of a world of magic and fantasy, which we're taken through via Georgia's emotional journey, conveyed through steady storytelling and an evocative performance by Bella Ramsey.

Many viewers will know Ramsey from her iconic roles in THE LAST OF US and GAME OF THRONES, and her role as Georgia is in a continuum with these no-nonsense, tough young heroines. Yet Georgia is also immersed in deep grief from losing her family, an emotion that endows her with both raw vulnerability and intense volatility. When she pursues the dragon to its cave, she's driven by ferocious anger. But when she discovers a surprise in the darkness, she discovers an unexpected tenderness and joy within herself. There's a feeling of something being recovered within Georgia, like the childhood that was tragically cut short for her.

Of course, the film has been building up to Georgia's confrontation with the dragon, and in that respect, VILLAIN does not disappoint, with an remarkable reveal of the creature itself. What Georgia chooses to do is both logical, true to her character, and yet still heartbreaking -- the choice of someone who has had everything taken from them, and still has that trauma deeply embedded within her. It ends on the film on a pensive note, asking questions of what is a monster and how they are made.