Just One Drink

Just One Drink File:De Burgh in the film.png
Directed by	Andrew de Burgh
Written by	Andrew de Burgh
Produced by	Andrew de Burgh Esther Washington
Starring	Barbara Nedeljakova Andrew de Burgh Isaac Anderson
Cinematography	Luca Mercuri
Edited by	Jason Christopher
Music by	Scott Jeffry Holmes
Release dates	November 7, 2015 (2015-11-07) (Chinese American Film Festival) February 24, 2016 (2016-02-24) (Worldwide)
Running time	19 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Just One Drink is a short psychological thriller film written, produced and directed by Andrew de Burgh, who also stars opposite Hostel star Barbara Nedeljakova. The film tells the tale of a beautiful widow with a dark secret who uses Facebook to lure two young men to her gorgeous Hollywood apartment for a New Year's Eve party. It premiered at the 2015 Chinese American Film Festival alongside blockbuster hits Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World. It was released in 4K resolution on YouTube on February 24, 2016. The film received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 100%.

Plot

In a dimly lit basement, a masked surgeon sits examining a bloodied carving fork. Steve Pintolivo (Andrew de Burgh), a recent college graduate, receives a Facebook message from a beautiful woman named Tamara Nolan (Barbara Nedeljakova) inviting him to her luxurious Hollywood apartment for a New Year’s Eve Party. Over some fine Colombian marijuana, Steve and his ex college classmate Derek Urden (Isaac Anderson) discuss a variety of topics including the possible evolution of man, classes and a former right hand man of Josef Stalin who recently came to speak to Derek’s religion class about his conversion to Christianity. When the topic of Stalin’s underling comes up, Steve quickly changes the subject to Tamara Nolan and the invite. The two young men decide to go but when they arrive at the party, they discover that only Tamara is there. However, the two young men soon fall for her charm and are tricked into drinking a cocktail laced with a very powerful sedative that knocks them out in seconds. When they wake up, Steve and Derek find themselves in a dark basement strapped to an operating table and a chair, respectively.

Tamara walks in holding a syringe and injects Derek with a colorless liquid, killing him instantly. She mentions an old man. A flashback to one year prior and Steve, dressed in a yellow trench coat and holding a knife in his hand, sits on his bed talking to an elderly man called Andrei Dzagoev (Harwood Gordon). He accuses Andrei of being one of Josef Stalin’s right hand men in the Second World War in addition to killing his grandfather. Back to the basement and Tamara explains that the old man was her husband and was the only man that ever truly loved her. She puts on surgeon scrubs, then tortures and kills Steve with a large carving fork. In a dimly lit basement, a masked surgeon sits examining a bloodied carving fork. Tamara sits in her car, texts a friend, then drives away into the night.

Cast

• Barbara Nedeljakova as Tamara Nolan
• Andrew de Burgh as Steve Pintolivo
• Isaac Anderson as Derek Urden
• Harwood Gordon as Andrei Dzagoev

Marketing

A theatrical trailer was released on March 25, 2015.

Reception

The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 100%, based on 5 reviews. Starburst Magazine film critic Ryan Pollard gave the film a 7 out of 10 and noted that the film "succeeds in putting a new spin on the revenge genre by managing to be effective and atmospheric for the most part, and getting the best out of Barbara Nedeljakova." Felix Vasquez of Cinema Crazed commended the film, stating "Director de Burgh is very good at delivering the gut punch with a surprise twist that unfolds within a twist. He shows a real knack for building suspense and keeping ambiguity a priority in unfolding his narrative. The performances really help “Just One Drink” packing some really great turns, including from Nedeljakova, who presents dimensions that she manages to convey in only eighteen minutes." Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews gave the film a B- and noted that "The knockout film is too short to do more than provide a fine eerie atmosphere for its femme fatale story." Staci Layne Wilson of Dread Central praised the film, stating that "The short is well-acted, the dialogue is up to par, here’s gore galore, and it’s intriguing enough to turn into a feature." John Noonan of Early Bird Film Society complimented the film, saying "de Burgh has a firm grasp of tension, allowing it to simmer as the story progresses. Equally, he manages to pull off a few twists and turns along the way that don’t overstuff the film’s short running time." Anton Bitel of Eye For Film gave the film a three and a half out of five and commended the film's "involving narrative structure."

Soundtrack

An official soundtrack was released on February 29, 2016.

Tracklisting

1. They Call Him The Surgeon
2. Facebook Fantasies
3. A Hidden Agenda
4. Dark Secrets
5. The Vixen
6. Bound
7. You Killed My Grandfather
8. Just One Drink [End Credits]

External links

• Just One Drink at IMDb
• Just One Drink Full Movie (2016) - Starring HOSTEL's Barbara Nedeljakova [4K ULTRA HD] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms8uq4d2jYY
• Just One Drink at Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/just_one_drink/?search=just%20one%20drink