The Gate (8:33)
Dust.com; IMDb; M.A.A.C.; Madison Films; YouTube

This 2016 short film was presented by Dust in 2016; re-released in 2022.

So... I watched this, then I checked the director's website, and she has a copy of the video there that's two minutes longer than this one, but that's just longer end credits. I was kind of hoping there might be a bit more to the story, because viewers are left to sort of suss out for themselves what's going on, and while I think anyone's guess is likely to be close to what the film actually means, it's still sort of vague.

Anyway, there's this totally badass woman who, according to the website, is named Cassie Weston. She has to battle her way past a bunch of bad guys before reaching the head bad guy. For most of the film, it seems as if she's trying to rescue her sister from this guy, but... it turns out there's something more spiritual going on, which leaves me wondering who (or rather what) the head bad guy actually is. I mean, he looks human enough, but I can't help thinking he might be something more than that. Also I have no idea what "the gate" of the title actually is, because I never saw anything like a gate in the movie. I have an idea about it, but it would be nice to actually see it, or something. In any event, while I think the film could be more interesting if it were longer and gave us a better idea of, you know, the context of everything, it's still worth watching as it is, just for the fighting. It is extremely well choreographed.

Note: I think the director is working on a feature-length version of "The Gate," or may even have finished it. But for now I have no idea if or when it'll be released.