Bryan Gondo Doesn’t Want You Comfortable in ‘‘Experiment’’

There’s a fascinating chaos pulsing through ''Experiment'' the student short from Bryan Kristhoporus Gondo. One moment it plays like a grounded mockumentary about an indie filmmaker recruited as a professor’s replacement test subject after a mysterious disappearance. The next, it slips into something stranger, darker, almost feverish. Reality fractures. Images mutate. Sound bends. And suddenly the film isn’t merely being watched it’s being experienced like a half-remembered nightmare.

That ambition alone deserves attention.

Fresh out of Bina Nusantara University’s film program, Gondo clearly isn’t approaching cinema cautiously. Experiment swings wildly toward psychological science fiction while blending live-action footage with mixed-media animation in ways that feel genuinely original.

It's brave. Gondo openly roots the film in personal experiences, including a near-death incident that shaped the movie’s dreamlike horror imagery. That emotional honesty leaks into every frame. Fire, screams, distorted space these aren’t simply aesthetic flourishes; they feel symbolic, almost subconscious manifestations of fear and instability. The result is a short film that constantly questions perception itself.

Visually, the film thrives most when it embraces experimentation over polish. The mixed-media approach gives it an identity many student productions desperately lack. Certain animated sequences carry a raw, handmade energy that feels refreshingly unpredictable.

At the same time, the limitations of the production remain visible. Some cinematography and lighting setups reveal the modest student budget a little too clearly, flattening scenes that otherwise aim for immersion. The pacing occasionally drifts during quieter stretches, and the sound design can become distracting, with dialogue often echoing as though every character exists inside the same empty corridor. It creates atmosphere, certainly but not always intentionally.

Still, those imperfections almost become part of the film’s DNA. And honestly, that willingness to risk confusion in pursuit of originality is far more exciting than technical perfection. Not every experiment succeeds flawlessly.