Erax is a teen mystery-thriller short film directed by Hebru Brantley and stars Jasmine Cephas Jones, Genesis White, and Lance Gross, alongside other cast members. The movie has a runtime of 13 minutes.
Netflix describes the movie as:
Monstrous creatures leap from a magical storybook and unleash mayhem and mischief for Auntie Opal and her tween niece Nina in this spooky short film.
– Erax review does not contain spoilers –
Netflix short Erax tackles a lot of important issues such as abandonment and guilt. With such a short runtime though, it’s acceptably difficult to juggle what to show and what not to. However, I must say that the movie really rushes through its commentary on love and acceptance at the end. The idea is clear – not inflicting future generations the same heartbreak that we went through. Sprinkle in some good old-fashioned magic and you have an entertaining kids’ movie!
Erax is an interesting watch. Apart from rushing that ending, I was thoroughly entertained with the storyline since the aunty-niece dynamic just works so well. It looks at growth and love and that’s always nice to watch, but the way the story is told is kid-friendly and extremely watchable. The same, however, cannot be said about Opal, who is an all-around insufferable character. Her antics might be funny to the kiddos, but adults will see right through that crap.
I mean, who throws a phone at a monster?
Either way, these monsters are hilarious and their sense of humour is something that made my 15 minutes with this short. I think this movie would be great as a feature film as well since it juggles so many different emotions. Regardless, Nina’s smartness saves the day here and I am here for it. Most of the time, she’s the more mature one of the two and that’s a refreshing change of pace. Also, that background score just makes me want to dance with myself and goes well with the mystery of these weird monsters.
Summing up: Erax
Erax is funny, entertaining and gets its ideas right. Although the ending feels a bit rushed and the “boss fight” a bit silly, I am sure the kids will love this one and the adults will find a few moments to laugh at as well.
Erax is streaming on Netflix.
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