The film The Life and Death of Michael Stephens tells the story of a man, Michael Stephens, who kidnaps his brother seeking revenge for his family's murder. It is a psychological thriller that takes place primarily in a single room. Michael is portrayed intensely seeking revenge, though his brother's character could have been more developed with greater dialogue. Overall the film is enjoyable but lacks some depth in character development.

1. The Life and Death of Michael Stephens
PLOT— The story of this film revolves around Michael Stephens, his fam-
ily seemingly killed by his elder brother who goes unnamed throughout the
film. Michael kidnaps his brother in order to try and get revenge because of
what happened to his family.
Review— The Life and Death of Michael Stephens is a psychological
thriller. The subject of the film certainly isn’t for the faint of heart with inter
family murder as well as kidnap. The films main location is a single room
and with the limited change of location, allows the audience to keep up as
the length of this film is short. With it’s seemingly sadistic nature, it isn’t
one to take the family to which warrants it’s “18” certificate.
Michael Stephens is portrayed as a man out for revenge for he strongly
believes his brother murdered their entire family. This comes off well in the
film with some solid acting as well as some good camera angles used
throughout. Michael takes a dramatic lead throughout the film with the
brother taking very much a back foot throughout which isn’t always a good
thing - the brother having only a few lines in a situation where he has been
kidnapped can come off slightly unrealistic although this does not ruin the
flow of the film as the entire thing comes off from Michaels point of view.
The film could have been improved with the brother having more dialogue
and perhaps a greater sense of panic although some elements of panic did
come off very well throughout.
To conclude, The Life and Death of Michael Stephens is a solid film with an
original story that is easy to follow but in some aspects lacks the depth
within character development but other then these small issues the film is
enjoyable and thought provoking.
Verdict — * * * 1/2
ENJOYABLE.