Doodlebug is a 1997 short film directed by Christopher Nolan, one year before he made his feature film debut with Following.
The movie revolves a man seemingly trying to kill a bug that's found its way into his room, only for the ending to reveal that something much more unusual is going on.
The short film can be viewed in its entirety here
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Tropes found in this short include:
- Deliberately Monochrome: Much like his first feature film, this movie is entirely in black-and-white.
- Laser-Guided Karma: When the man finally smashes the bug that is actually a small version of himself, he is punished by a giant version of himself that smashes him..
- Recursive Reality: At the very end, the man finally catches the bug, and we see that it's actually a tiny version of himself, apparently also trying trying to find an even smaller version of itself. He kills it, only to be crushed by a giant-sized version of himself. Roll credits.
- Silence Is Golden: There is absolutely no dialogue from the man or either of his larger/smaller versions.
- Wham Shot: We are led to believe that the man is simply trying to kill a pesky bug. It's when he finally catches it, and we see that it's a tiny version of himself, that it becomes apparent that is something else is going on.
