The Familiar (dir. Kody Zimmerman)is a fantastic blend of comedy and horror. It takes a behind the scenes look at what being a vampire’s personal assistant would look like. I like the two philosophical questions the short raises. First, for many of us, landing what we believe would be our dream job would one day be revealed to just more mundane work like anything else. The glamour of working for a vampire quickly strips itself away and is revealed as nothing more than being a glorified gopher. There’s only so many victims to be disposed of, whores to be paid off and eBay transactions one can handle before growing incredibly bored by the banality of it all. Second, I love the idea that vampires would struggle to keep pace with evolving social norms and technology. While one takes for granted that a vampire would simply adapt over the years, when you go home to your parents for Thanksgiving, take a look at how they struggle with a universal remote control and then come back and tell me how a centuries old creature would adapt to driving stick shift. The performances are great in the short and there’s no shortage of snarky dialogue. I’d love to see this concept blown up into a feature.