A young man’s life is suddenly and inexplicably derailed, as he finds himself at the mercy of automated ‘justice’.
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes corporate euphemisms.
Direction
Claustrophobic framing turns apartments into prisons.
Acting
Erick Lopez's escalating panic is uncomfortably real.
Director
K.D. Dávila
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dávila expanded this from her USC thesis into the feature Bad Axel; the short's specific anxiety about surveillance tech disproportionately targeting communities of color became even more prescient post-2020.
The entire film was shot in Dávila's actual apartment building; the claustrophobic hallway scenes use her real neighbors as extras.
US
