The only thing breaking the dim and suffocating silence of the apartment is an indistinct shadow moving across the hardwood floor. In this early short film, Christopher Nolan weaves a sense of unease through the sharp contrasts of black-and-white frames. Every footstep echoing in the middle of the room triggers a state of being left alone with the paranoia the mind has created. The thing he’s trying to corner with the slipper in his hand is perhaps the most innocent object in the room. In this confined space where contact with reality slowly fades, fear seeps not from the outside, but directly from between the walls and from within.