Pitch is a 2009 short film written and directed by Alex Woolfson. It can be viewed on Vimeo here
. (Note: Contains some NSFW imagerynote , though the landing page itself is Safe For Work.)
A man comes home to find his wife in bed with another man. A demon appears and urges him to take revenge, while an angel appears to try and talk him down.
Contains examples of:
- Angelic Transformation: Jim was once an ordinary man from Iowa before dying and becoming an angel.Belial: You were one of those corn-fed Christians, weren't you? It's always a treat to see one of you guys actually make it on the other team.
- Baddie Flattery: At the end, Belial thanks Jim for playing his part and offers to help him switch sides, complimenting his imagination and saying it'd be nice to see him "put it to better use."
- Bedroom Adultery Scene: Gene discovers his wife and another man asleep and naked in bed together, their clothes strewn on the floor.
- Closet Gay: When he was alive, Jim harbored lustful feelings towards some of his male schoolmates.
- The Corrupter: Belial the demon sweet-talks others to get them to do bad things.
- He talks Gene into trying to shoot his wife Cheryl after he catches her cheating. At the end, it's revealed he's also been doing the same with Cheryl, convincing her to murder Gene for insurance money.
- He distracts Jim the angel from helping Gene by bringing up and playing into fantasies of his high school crush, though Jim manages to rise above it. Jim seems to suspect devilish influence behind his sexuality when it's brought up, but Belial denies it.Belial: Hey now, don't look at me that way. We weren't responsible for those desires. Didn't they tell you the score?
- A Deadly Affair: After discovering his wife's affair, Gene takes a gun and approaches the bedroom where she's sleeping with her lover, intent on shooting them both.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The film is mostly in black and white. Exceptions are a scene of Jim and Belial in heavenly/hellish surroundings, which is in color, and the spirit of Gene's mom, which is in color while her surroundings are in black and white.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Belial distracts Jim from the task at hand by playing a fantasy of his high school crush. Jim manages to throw off the fantasy, but loses precious time because of it.
- Domestic Abuse: It's implied that Gene's dad beat his mom. When her spirit appears, her face is bruised, and Jim urges Gene not to make the same mistakes his father did.
- Gay Guy Seeks Popular Jock: Jim lusted after the football team in high school.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: The demon presses Gene to act on his dark desire for revenge, while the angel tries to convince him otherwise.
- Guardian Angel: Jim the angel appears before Gene in his time of distress to try and convince him not to hurt anyone and to walk away.
- Insurance Fraud: In the end, Gene's wife Cheryl shoots him dead as part of a scheme to collect insurance money.
- Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: Jim masturbated over the football team in his high school yearbook, having lusted after them in secret.
- Modesty Towel: The fantasy version of Jim's old crush Mike appears in a locker room, drying himself off with a towel. He then approaches with the towel wrapped around his waist.
- Morality Chain Beyond the Grave: Just before Gene would have shot his wife and her lover, Jim brings up an image of Gene's mom, who pleads with him to stop and to remember her, which finally convinces him to put down the gun and walk away.
- Necessarily Evil: Belial implies that the corrupting work of demons plays a part in God's plan.Belial: We all do His work, Jim. You'll learn that over time.
- Plot-Inciting Infidelity: The story opens with a man discovering that his wife was cheating on him, and everything else follows from that.
- Poor Man's Porn: Jim masturbated over the football team in his high school yearbook, having lusted after them in secret.
- Shout-Out: Belial mentions that Jim's fantasies of his crush borrowed some from Little House on the Prairie.
- Tempting Fate: After Gene puts down the gun and walks away, Jim tells him, "You won't regret this. We won! Hot damn, we won!" Then Cheryl shoots him with the gun.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: Gene attempts to kill his wife for cheating on him. He ends up not going through with it, only for her to shoot him instead to collect on insurance money.
- Title-Only Opening: The film opens with the title fading in with a drumroll on top of a smoky background before cutting to the opening scene.
- We Can Rule Together: As Belial departs at the end, he drops an offer to Jim to help him switch to the side of the demons.Belial: If you just happen to be interested in a change of profession, you know where to find me. I've always known you had a great imagination. It'd be nice to see you put it to better use.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: According to Belial, he had been working on his plan for months, but hadn't expected Gene to come home that night and catch Cheryl and Bill in the act of cheating. Thus, his corruption of Gene was done on the fly, as was his handling of Jim's attempted interference.Belial: Sometimes you've gotta... improvise.
