Stylish but barely mediocre overall

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The great Kenneth Branagh was kind enough to give up one day of work to appear in this short film, written and directed by his frequent stand-in, Phil Stoole. Coming in at a scant 17 minutes, SCHNEIDER'S 2ND STAGE is a psychological horror yarn at its most disturbing. Stoole cleverly puts the low budget to an advantage, making the story essentially about one guy alone in the bleak woods. The weirdo phone calls tie it in with the likes of PHONE BOOTH, but SCHNEIDER'S 2ND STAGE is something much more sinister and disturbing; the serial killer subject matter is definitely for adults only. This film is a roaring success thanks to Branagh's incredible acting, which is as strong and self-assured as ever. A mini masterpiece!

This is the first short film that I had ever seen. Before this I thought they were all just a waist of time but this was incredibly intense and disturbing.Kenneth Branagh Is a phenomenal actor and he didn't disappoint in this thriller.It's hard to write about this without spoiling anything so I'll be careful not to. This is an incredible psychological thriller. Brilliantly acted, and filmed in a way that will thoroughly frighten and disturb anyone who watches it.This is close to Hitchcock in more ways than one. Its only 16 minutes so It won't take too long.

*WARNING!!!!!!* *Spoilers!*Kenneth Branagh is fantastic as Joseph Barnett in Schneider's 2nd Stage (Of course he's great in everything, even the movies that everyone thinks sucked)Joe is taking a drive out in the country and goes the wrong way. Then he receives a phone call from a guy who tells him to look in the trunk of his car. There is a ten year old girl, dead and rotting and, apparently, has enough evidence to prove that Joe raped and murdered her. The only way to save himself is to bury the girl.Of course the voice of the guy on the cell is Kenneth also, so you know Joe really did kill the girl but he's just a poor madman who doesn't know that he is crazy to begin with. But it's still very good.You can see the whole movie at atomfilms.com. Go see it!

This is a very strange film, and rather disturbing. Not what many people would expect from Ken Branagh. It leaves you guessing, even after the end. Try to see!