Terror Keeps You Slender (dir. Daniel Sauli)

By: Adam Freed

What at first appears to be the concerned work of a good samaritan quickly evolves into a street level manipulation in director Daniel Sauli’s dramatic short film Terror Keeps You Slender.  The film follows a middle aged male protagonist credited only as “The Guy” (Luke Kirby) who buys into a sob story presented to him by “The Girl” (Genevieve Hudson-Price) in which she is the victim of a violent domestic encounter and is in need of quick cash and the use of a phone.  Where Terror Keeps You Slender begins to falter is that its events do not seem to carry any real form of consequence, nor do they allude to a digestible message.  The Girl wears an identifiable red sweatshirt, a fact that makes the film’s best visual moment, a black and white montage of her neighborhood movements stand out in contrast to the drab appearance of the remainder of the film.  Ultimately, Terror Keeps You Slender is a small story about a common event for those used to living in an urban environment. Although the film offers some inspired editing by Alexander Gurvits and Andrew Kovacic, Sauli’s twenty minute short offers little else that would tattoo Terror Keeps You Slender on one's memory.

Target Score 4/10 - Terror Keeps You Slender is a short film about a man overcome by his propensity towards gullible behavior.  Featuring two workmanlike performances from Luke Kirby and Genevieve Hudson-Price, the film offers glimmers of hope, but ultimately feels like a meal consisting of empty calories. 

Terror Keeps You Slender is included in Movie Archer's coverage of the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.