Schneider's 2nd Stage (2001)
Which way lies madness? A man named Joe drives his Land Rover into a remote field. The purpose of his trip is obscure. Is he scouting a location? Has he been sent by someone to check out the area? His cell phone rings and a stranger's voice tells him to look in the back of his car. He does, and discovers the dead body of a young girl who's gone missing. The voice on the phone tells him he's been set up, that no one will believe him, and that he'd better follow instructions and bury the body. As he complies, his headaches worsen. Is there any way out for Joe?
Watch Trailer
Free Trial Channels
Cast
Reviews
Excellent, a Must See
Excellent film with a gripping story!
Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
I saw this the year it came out, listed on a site called "Atom Films" and, having been a fan of Mr. Branagh's for years already, I downloaded it. After watching it the first time, I sat back and thought about it for a few minutes. "Geeze...This instills an even deeper love for this actor in me!" I remember thinking. After about 20 minutes of reflection, I watched it again. After this, I sent a link to virtually everyone I knew, telling them to watch the genius that is Kenneth in this shortie. They all came back with extremely positive reviews for this film. The suspense, and superb acting put forward in this short puts this film at the top of my all time favorite shorts list, and anyone I know could tell you...I'm very VERY picky about my favorites lists. I urge every single fan of Thrillers and or of Mr. Branagh's to go find this film and watch it. Seriously.
This is the first short film that I had ever seen. Before this I thought they were all just a waist of time but this was incredibly intense and disturbing.Kenneth Branagh Is a phenomenal actor and he didn't disappoint in this thriller.It's hard to write about this without spoiling anything so I'll be careful not to. This is an incredible psychological thriller. Brilliantly acted, and filmed in a way that will thoroughly frighten and disturb anyone who watches it.This is close to Hitchcock in more ways than one. Its only 16 minutes so It won't take too long.
*WARNING!!!!!!* *Spoilers!*Kenneth Branagh is fantastic as Joseph Barnett in Schneider's 2nd Stage (Of course he's great in everything, even the movies that everyone thinks sucked)Joe is taking a drive out in the country and goes the wrong way. Then he receives a phone call from a guy who tells him to look in the trunk of his car. There is a ten year old girl, dead and rotting and, apparently, has enough evidence to prove that Joe raped and murdered her. The only way to save himself is to bury the girl.Of course the voice of the guy on the cell is Kenneth also, so you know Joe really did kill the girl but he's just a poor madman who doesn't know that he is crazy to begin with. But it's still very good.You can see the whole movie at atomfilms.com. Go see it!
This is a very strange film, and rather disturbing. Not what many people would expect from Ken Branagh. It leaves you guessing, even after the end. Try to see!