STALLED | Omeleto
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- A man is trapped in a time paradox.
STALLED is used with permission from Matt Black. Learn more at weekend.video.
Ruthlessly ambitious business executive Pete is on his way to an important meeting when he realizes he's running late. As he pops into the restroom, he's rude on the phone to his co-worker and he's short-tempered with the janitor, revealing cut-throat selfishness and entitlement.
When he's in the stall, he sees a strange message written on the toilet paper and then someone peeking into his stall. Investigating the sounds of a scuffle outside, he realizes he's been locked into the bathroom -- and realizes the person peeking into his stall was himself. And he can't escape... until he's unlocked to the temporal paradox he's found himself in. But doing that means confronting his worst enemy: himself.
Written and directed by Matt Black, this sci-fi short is essentially a puzzle operating on two levels: there's the straightening of twisted timelines as a man tries to escape the time loop he's found himself, which brings kinetic energy and suspense to the storytelling. But there's also an existential puzzle, as Pete must work with his past and future selves to figure it all out. But when you're an arrogant, selfish jerk, that process is a lot harder.
Shot with a lurid moodiness like a corporate thriller and scored with an anxious, dissonant electronic score, the film still finds a lot of fun and even insight in the set-up. Placing a time loop in a public restroom builds some quirkiness into the narrative from the beginning and contours the concept perfectly for the short format. And there's also some biting humor as Pete comes up against his own self, which he does again and again as he tries to figure out the paradox he's in but is hindered by his blowhard attitude.
Time traveling is a complicated idea and the fast pace and sharp dialogue lay it out quickly, but the mechanics don't have to be completely grasped to enjoy the film. Instead, the story smartly yokes the solving of the time travel puzzle to Pete's confrontation with himself. Actor Jacob Daniels' nimble performance as Pete proves to be the film's anchor through all the temporal madness, as his character slowly realizes that working with himself is the true nightmare. He sees the cost of his cut-throat, toxic attitude and treatment of others because the time loops force him to be the victim of it.
If Pete wants any chance to escape the temporal trap he's in, he's got to change his attitude fast -- or else risk being killed by his own desperate, cornered self. By the end of STALLED, he's a changed man, and that growth is hard-won. It's an eye-opening moment for Pete when the worst version of himself points a gun at himself and has no reservations about pulling the trigger. It's a riveting situation in a short full of such moments, but it also provokes some reflection on how we'd get along with ourselves at our worst, making for an unexpectedly thoughtful ending to a compelling wild ride of a film.
Tossing his tie, jacket, and watch in the trash was him killing his future. On the phone in the beginning he said nobody was going to take that account because it was his future. Giving up that future is what got him out of the paradox.
Omg this comment needs more recognition!!
This 💯
Ehrm.. duh?
T
thats why he can get out that bathroom
imagine being late and then trying to explain this to your boss
"Drug test him boyz"
Actually, he exited at around 10:30, which is exactly when his meeting was going to be if I understood it correctly.
Until his boss is....him.
that's what I said lol@@a.k.s7613
that's what I said lol@@a.k.s7613
So after escaping the time paradox he loses his job because he was late/quits because he wants to change his life. He becomes a janitor and grows old. One day he's cleaning the bathroom and sees his younger self walk in, realizing he is back in the paradox. He leaves himself a hint for how to escape, leaves the toilet paper on the counter, and walks out, leaving his younger self to his own devices. Genius writing.
Agree. Most people wouldn't notice that.
I liked your read on the story, so I watched closely a few times. The other party called him Pete during the call, and the name tag on the janitor read Janus. And the eye color is a bit different. So I can't conclude that your version is correct (but I kind of liked yours a bit better).
@@heffercan3216 That is the brilliance of this short. It is Janus himself sending him into the stall. He even calls him a 'bad person'. Janus is the Roman God of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings.
Janus provides him the means to exit by figuring out his short comings.
The name tag is too small and even zoomed in it's blurry, could say James. If it does say Janus would think the writer would make it more readable/noticeable. I too had the thought of the janitor being him but can't be sure, that would be more poetic/artistic. Did you catch at the beginning he was already 20 min late as his phone was 310 as he was arguing on the phone his friend told him it was 330. The future he should have killed should have been the janitor, but he would have needed to go back in time prior too entering the first door to not be late, not shoot himself. The gun is a loose thread, it never shows where it came from in any timeline? 🤔
@@terrafirma9328 It's said right in the story. Time travel is just the way it is, it's not a good idea to think about it too hard.
Where did he get the gun?
From himself.
"53 missed calls from Christopher Nolan"
well yeah but
no disrespect to nolan, i love every one of his films but i feel like he would take this put the scenes and put them out of order and never explain the overall storyline
@@revilo1340that is exactly what he would do
Christopher Nolan doesnt have a cell phone 😂
@@yeetbro3659wait, really?
@@brayaki3768 yep. He doesn't use a smartphone
One actor, one room, one script.
One masterpiece
I count 3 actors
@@RoamingArieshow so
@@purujitparashar4642 guy, janitor, guy on phone
I count two because they’re twins
@@purujitparashar4642the janitor, the guy on the phone, and the main guy
What's funny to me, is that final survivor isn't the one we followed from the start, he is a remnant of a time line that shouldn't exist, a possibility, the possibility of a version of him that realizes he is a bad person, the only version of him that survived isn't connected by causality to the one that went in. Brilliant writing.
Well he is. He is the one who went in that stall, the only thing that separated the "worst" version of Pete from the "best" version was Pete refusing to go into the stall at 8:08.
@@AndyHappyGuy I picked up on that too. Its really a great use of the butterfly effect to make the point in the narrative. Really intriguing.
@@AndyHappyGuy the guy that refused to enter the stall at 8:08 is not the guy that made it out.
@@geminirox8635 exactly!
@@AndyHappyGuyI think he meant narratively. The jacketless guy became the protagonist in the middle of the story and the protagonist we were following from the start turned into the antagonist.
When you remember that's just one guy acting in an empty room it's mind blowing. Well done sir 👏
2 guys. The janitor was there as well. (3 if you count the guy on the phone).
@@OptimusGPrimethe Janitor is him from the future...so probably CGI...and I wouldn't be surprised if he's the one on the phone
I just finished watching it, now i gotta watch it again, wow!
No, all clones
and a pretty nifty editing guy also...
This 20 minute video just felt like 3 hours of thinking
Deadass tho 😂
That's a time paradox by itself😂
This is one of the reasons i avoid going to public restrooms
That made me laugh lmfao
Seriously. This is like the sixth movie I've seen where the men's room is a portal to something unpleasant.
🤣🤣🤣
HAHAHHAHAHHAHAA 😂😂😂😂😂
When the hand that grabs your ankle is your own…
Respect to the camera man for avoiding being in mirror.
And for being immune to time paradox
@@Randomer231maybe the cameraman was the same guy just from the future recording it all
@@Tv_3Z😂😂😂😂😂
There is no mirror
@@rajmotta482 Actualy, I was wrong. We see him at 0:55
I like how the Janitors name is Janus, janus is roman god of gateways, door, transition - time and choices, So he himself played the time game with Pete
Sure, Janus
@@nicholasfactorhuh
I think it was himself as an old man, back in the paradox.
@@marcusbergman6116not in the paradox, just happened to be there
He is the Janitor, the guy in the suit.
My favorite part of this was the fight scene where it's unclear why he's fighting himself, and then he enters and exits the stall in the middle of a fight, that was really well done and unique.
I feel like most people don’t understand that if if there’s a second version of him it’s bc it’s his future so he will go through that
❤
Maybe the writer kept that to explain the origin of the og jacketless guy
Absolute genius. 'Surrounded by Morons ' deserves an Oscar
I call myself a moron all the time 😄
@einienj3281 Same, whenever I pass myself in public I always shout: "you fcking moron!"... and the other me does the same. -He's- I'm just like me omg!
And at the Oscars Ceremony he will be surrounded by even more morons!
Definitely meme material
17:18 Him closing the door so that the bullet his bad self shot at 16:43 ends up killing his bad self was one of the sickest things I've seen done with time travel. Really well done concept.
so what happened to 16:43 him? just dont exist anymore?
@@boooooo8376thats why its a paradox. Theres this paradox called "the grandfather paradox", you have a mission to go back in time and kill your grand dad, but if you kill your grand dad, your dad doesnt exist, so you dont exist either, so who killed your grand dad or id he dead or alive in the end
@@boooooo8376I think, All of them came from the same point but they have different futures so if you kill one it doesn't effect your own.
I gasped when this happened! This video is a masterpiece
Looper
The "essence" of the skit is actually quite simple.
If you just ignore all the technical stuff about the paradox, and just look at the two main copies of the character, you have one who has realized (and said as much) that he is a bad person, but resolves to change for the better, while the other one cynically embraced his own selfishness and brutality.
And the one who acknowledges his own character faults, but wants to be better comes out on top, while the one who is content with his darkness loses.
It's the same person, but two* different future outlooks, and the one willing to change wins out.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
@@einienj3281 Compromise , relish , destroy
Quantum…selection?
they are even dressed differently
the one in the suit being bad (black suit)
and one with suit off being good (white shirt)
What's interesting to me is that Corpo Guy _did_ change. He's the one we see, according to White Shirt, that first did something differently. Wonder if there's something there.
Something I want to take note of.
The name tag that the janitor wears says Janus.
In Roman myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. These themes are very much at play in this short, what with the time-traveling bathroom stalls that could be considered to be "gates."
I have three possible interpretations for who the elderly janitor could be.
1. Janus the god himself, helping Pete become a better person via their domain.
2. A future version of Pete, representing a wiser and overall more peaceful self that he will eventually become.
3. Simply an unrelated elderly janitor, albeit one with an uncanny sense of wisdom regarding what will end up happening to Pete.
This comment right here is what I was looking for.
The janitor is future Pete that lost his job because he was late, and later in life, becomes a janitor and sees himself walking in. That’s why he said you might get a good look at yourself. You might not be happy about it. Even when he escapes he is still in the paradox. Genius writing.
"Janus" could be a previous "survivor" so thats how he know how this would played out since he already experienced it.
I think he's older Pete. When Pete asks for paper towels, his expression looks like "ah shii here we go again".
Then when the light flickers, it looked like he used it as a cue to leave the toilet paper and carry on or skidaddle to not get caught in the loop.
@@Forthecontent1 yeah Janus has different eye colors so it could just be the god of time himself giving this guy a change of heart
Gotta love the number of ways they used to try to give viewers visual clues to help keep track. The toilet paper on the foot was simple and effective, and I liked that a lot.
I'm going to start going into mens rooms wt black magic marker and writing "Don't panic" on toilet paper rolls
@@RaptorFromWeegee please do thats hilarious
@@RaptorFromWeegee Write it and walk out and now you're trapped in a paradox and THAT is how all of it starts
@@malikkelly oh damn, that actually got me hyped lmao😂
One of my favorite things about this is how the gun just exists. That's something I've always wondered about regarding time travel and paradoxes. Once as a kid I even tried to create a time machine by telling myself if I hide it in a certain spot at a predetermined time in the future then it should already be waiting there for me whereever I willed it to be. Didn't work...
I leave my wallet, keys, and phone in the same spot every night. Then, when I travel into the future, my past self has already set up my things right where I need them to be. Past me is very thoughtful for future me.
I just tried to set a reminder on my phone for 50 years in the future for myself to go back to my room and wait but google didn’t let me set it that far :( I’ll find a way.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 You guys are terrible 🤣🤣🤣 You had me sarcastically hyped👍👍👍🤣🤣🤣
Or you know, it did work but just not for this version of you lawl
One could hypothesize that if such was possible and every person did this, someone who actually creates such would then find it.
I would have paid to see something this good, so, here ya go!
Wow
you did
This is the way economy shoud work
@@FunnyIvri what
Thanks
This strangely ends up working by just being plain about the fact it shouldn't be working and it doesn't make sense and just roll with it. It's generally the attempt at explaining why time travel and paradoxes happen that ends up causing inconsistencies, and that doesn't happen here.
The character at the end is just as confused as the one at the beginning, even his escape involves preparing the next loop and leaving with the assumption that that pocket of time will probably happen over and over eternally. Even having lived through it, knowing all the steps, he still leaves himself the same vague clue, maybe to keep the loop intact, maybe knowing the event changed him and he wants to leave the lesson for himself.
Very well made.
Paradoxes/time travel is my favorite form of fiction, but it's extremely rare to find a story so cohesive and well thought out. Bravo! This was a real treat 😍
Me too
Watch coherence. Low budget but amazing time paradox movie.
I believe it's already on my watch later list, thanks for the endorsement 😁
watch "Maanaadu (2021)"
Another thing is that if he wasn't so stuck on that part that he has to kill his future self, he would have thought to just shoot the door handle of the exit considering he had unlimited bullets
Watching it for a lot of times made me realize an important detail. There was this without jacket Pete who had no idea what was happening. Yet that Pete would be facing the Bloody Pete, a couple of minutes later. The only clue he was given was by future Pete who said, "Last requests" before closing the door. Giving him the clue to get inside the stall and close it when he's asked the "Any last requests?" Question. This pete helps the other pete out too by putting that "last requests" clue before he goes back to finish the story.
Brilliant writing where everything comes full circle and all the technical details make sense.
And Bloody Pete never saw that because he was from another timeline. Brilliant.
And how did that Pete know what was the right clue?
@@ioma7072because that also happened to that pete
There is one technical detail that does not make sense, where did the gun come from???
Yooo that was clean ngl😮
I like how every important version of himself has something identifiable, the one with the jacket, the one without the jacket, for some time the toilet paper in the foot, spots of blood. Everything is very well written and planned out.
I love that this completely embrases the bootstrap paradox with the gun. It's always sort of tiptoed around and avoided. I love how this says: there's a gun now. Where did he get it? From himself, who got it from himself and so on. The gun has no origin and I love that it's not explained.
i was really expecting him to end up becoming the janitor from the start, and his sort of cosmic punishment would be that he has to grow old in the bathroom and watch the behaviour that made him the man he is.
dats what I thought
I was thinking the same
it might be him. perhaps after he left the bathroom, he continued to his meeting, lived his early life (whether good or bad), and then at the end somehow became a janitor for that specific moment. Therefore, this was the initial part before the time paradox. that's my theory, idk how much sense it is tho since im not sure time travel wise, it's even remotely accurate or close hahaha
The janitor has the same very blue eyes he does, but maybe coincidence.
Interesting. I hadn't thought of that.
You had me at "the writing's on the toilet paper."
Made me remember, "The writings on the wall" quote.
I actually laughed at that!😂twas clever.
"And there's something about holding a piece of paper and pulling... a pencil through it"
"We're doing 80s time travel"
Genius writing
I barely understand that first line.
Same can you explain ?
@@dripjack_-1 its a common trope in sci fi where a character folds a piece of paper in half to describe a wormhole. several movies and stuff use the same trope. It's basically saying instead of having to traverse the entire page of the piece of paper, a wormhole allows you to go to your destination by poking through the fabric of spacetime to get to the destination or time you want.
Inception and referenced in Thor love and and thunder
@@user-js8oy7mq1y you mean interstellar. not inception.
i love how this inserts paradoxes together, like the death being a variation of the grandfather paradox, and the gun being the bootstrap paradox. also, when he said "no", he broke time, thereby breaking the space-time continuum and causing the universe to collapse in on itself.
I can barely explain it, but i love time loop movies because i love seeing people put in a difficult situation that they have never seen before, and then they adapt to it, and learn about it. i just love that.
also, i just realised that the entire film is 19 minutes and 55 seconds long. 1955. a blatant back to the future reference.
This was simply brilliant. I've never seen any time-travel video implement the bootstrap and grandpa paradox at the same time and have them make sense.
Wait people are able to understand it
You should watch Doctor Who then
@@ggnova9851 overrated. Try Primer.
Literally my only problem with this is the bullets. I'm willing to accept that the gun exists outside of time, and he gets it from himself. Classic bootstrap paradox stuff. But at what point does it get reloaded? He uses enough bullets in one or two loops to completely empty the magazine, and an empty gun would collapse the loop. So where are the bullets being resupplied from?
@@Aherea the bullets are trapped in a time paradox and asking themselves the same question 😃 😆
Good work! Time travel sci-fi never really works in the hard science making-sense way, but this turns it into a morality play, and it works.
Oh wow nice to see you here sir! Love your vids
I think traveling back in time will never be possible but it WILL be possible to travel forward in time, maybe. How? Just travel through space at speeds approaching the speed of light. For the people watching you through a telescope on Earth you'd appear to slow down until eventually you'd look frozen into a state of suspended imagination ala Rip Van Winkle.
From YOUR perspective you'll see everything in the universe move faster and faster until its just a long blur of light. When you slow back down to normal speeds you'll be many years in the future, but with no way to get back, ever.
Also gotta remember to consume no more than half your fuel for your acceleration phase because you'll need the other half of your fuel to decelerate. If you miscalculate you'll end up hurtling through space at near light speeds moving into the future forever and ever until the end of time.
@@RaptorFromWeegee nothing can move at the speed of light though , and there is no fuel that burn fast enough to support such speeds.
Which means your theory is impossible to achieve and if it does happen , you'll eventually slow down on your own.... probably so....not till the end of time which is... probably never
Lindy!
@@RaptorFromWeegeeif u can’t travel back in time 🕰️ then the future doesn’t exist.. it never will.
We really need to appreciate that visual effects artistry has advanced to the point where a short independent film with this premise can be made so seamlessly.
It depends, when its this high quality its often because a bigger production team is behind it.
And not to mention the acting. Outstanding.
The Idea of Talking to Yourself, another conscience thats literally you and is able to think seperatley from you Is Both Wholesome and Schizophrenic.
As soon as there is another "you" that person's choice will go different, ergo, a new being exists.
There’s so many great things about this story. The fact that the gun just exists and we all accept it shows that the writing is so good that it has the right to just make up whatever it wants to. And the branch off into separate versions of himself being hinted at and then shown rather than just one version past and present is done so perfectly
That's exactly why it's a time paradox and not a time loop. If it were a time loop then the gun would HAVE to be accounted for
@@Friendly_G I like paradoxes because they're so much more wild than regular time travel/loops
yes! it's so good it's bad!
there's the possibility that the old janitor (the main character old, look at the eyes) could have added the gun to the equation when he enters the paradox in the future
@@Friendly_Gtime paradox and time loop are not mutually exclusive. The gun is an example of bootstrap paradox, for this paradox to exist it there has to be a time loop.
My god. He just came out of a toilet cubicle after crapping, DIDN'T WASH HIS HANDS, and then proceeded to touch both the door handle and his phone. Truly a monster.
We're men
😂😂😂😂😂👍
Plot twist: This was a public service announcement for hand hygiene the whole time.
That's why he got stuck in this time travel 😂
im sure that was the least of his concerns
I love how they never explained where the gun came from. It's as if the firearm materialized out of nowhere, like a paradoxical math problem with an added numerical value that suddenly got into the formula for some unexplainable reason.
Sometimes you just find a gun in a toilet stall. 🤷
Thats the thing with time travel problems/paradoxes. It is not necessarily about the how did he get the gun or where did it come from. Its more about WHEN did he obtain it, because technically it has always been there and at the same time it was never there at all.
Should have had the janitor leave it there. Would have completed the whole "spooky" reason the janitor seemed to know what was going to happen. Maybe they left that out in the editing.
It’s called the Bootstrap Paradox.
@@onedaya_martian1238 was gonna say, the janitor should have been himself. Since they showed a close up of their eyes and the janitor had distinct blue eyes, maybe it was supposed to be that way.
the whole 16:40 section was easily the coolest thing ive ever seen in any fiction.
jumping to the past to scape the present just to then jump in the future and use the bullet from the present is CRAZY and EPIC
19:55 ? just perfect
This is one of the greatest "time travel" films I've ever seen - probably the best that was ever written. Masterfully crafted. it's structured in such a way that every detail matters, while at the same time, nothing really matters at all.
very well said
You should watch 'primer'
Unless you were very specific in your usage of "film" and not just "story", you need to watch DARK before crowning this one the best out there.
You should watch "timecrimes"
Hey have you seen predestination?
amazing, this deserves some kind of reward. the way they employ the bootstrap AND the grandad paradox AND have it make sense is so satisfying. Also the director's name? "matt black" is the most badass name I've ever heard. 10/10
What the hell even happend 💀 could you explain?
Loool i thought the same thing when i saw the name🤣🤣🤣🤣
Matte black is the color of my phone ⚫️📲
the only film where the protagonist is also the side character and the antagonist at the same time, while also being background characters
Triangle 2009
Predestination (2014) kind of
gora and arog
The nutty professor 🤭🤭
I love how this is complex, but sequenced in a way that is very intuitive to understand and isn't at all confusing.
I love the subtle foreshadowing in the beginning. Saying he’ll shoot someone in the head and his clock is actually 10:10 while everyone else’s is 10:30. Perfect.
And the fact that when everything ends, he’ll end up at 10:30.
Apparently each door had a different effect:
1st door: sends you to a different place in time (large time difference)
2nd door: it's only used once by survivor Pete at 7:06
3rd door: sends you to a different place in time (short time difference)
4th door: sends you back in the past
Survivor Pete used the 1st door to escape bloody Pete at 16:42 and goes back to 14:16 and uses the 3rd door to quickly go back to future bloody Pete, he pushes him into the 1st door and sends him back to past bloody Pete exactly when he shoots the door.
The only thing that's been left a mystery is when jacketless Pete from 7:06 came from. This implies that this is where the time paradox was first broken, in the original paradox he was supposed to repeat this dialogue and bloody Pete would enter the first stall, but since he refused that erased the point of origin from survivor Pete. Brilliant writing, very subtle detail.
Thank you dude now i get it
Dude wow thank you
Your comment made me understand the whole thing. Thanks man.
Nice analysis
ooooh thank you
I love when theres noticable hints that don't entirely give it away. I kept wondering why the first dead guy had blood all over, not just where he was shot. Brilliant writing!
My question where did the gun came from?
@@MrUnknown38766 Janus left it lol
@@TheUnderscore_ Janus?
@@MrUnknown38766 The janitor
It is a journey through the different moods of the same person, as he jumps between paradoxes, making each mood lead him through different situations of each paradox. Excellent script.
Time travel/paradox stories are some of the most difficult to pull off. This was masterfully done!
Sublime. Great writing and directing. the acting was superb and not ONCE did I question how they composited the actor in the scenes together, I just accepted that there were multiple characters. Amazingly well put together by everyone involved.
Same! I never questioned how they did it!
clone video app thing its great
"everyone involved" HAH 😅
Maybe I'm weird but I prefer to do my time travel in the privacy of my own bathroom at home.
😂🤣😅
the only thing that is weird is that you think it is your bathroom
At least in my bathroom, I time travel from full bowels to empty in no time flat. Especially if I where to dare eat something like taco bell.
Very true it's essential under the right pronoun...
Not weird at all. I too prefer to do my time travel in the privacy of your bathroom.
me: "can i use the bathroom"
teacher: "you should have gone before class"
the bathroom before class:
The ultimate irony, to my mind, is that the last thing he does before leaving is to set up the paper towel roll that was there before he first entered the stall, which means that he is now leaving the bathroom at a time before he originally first entered it, _before he was late_ in the first place. If he actually wanted to, he could probably now make it to the meeting on time after all.
Which, if he did that, would then mean there'd be no reason for the other guy to call him, so no angry conversation in front of the janitor, and likely no prompt for the time paradox to happen at all.
It is ultimately his decision to be a changed person and blow off the meeting that caused the whole situation, and thus the change, in the first (last) place.
thank you for that explanation i needed that
Good point!
Isnt that a paradox in itself? You stop a paradox from within the paradox so you wouldn't have stopped it at all because you never existed. A weird sort of Grandfather Paradox?
Are you sure about that? After all: the guy he was talking to on the telephone, in the beginning, said that it was already 3:30.
And I think, that "Kill your future" meant that he should kill his future career at that network.
So, what if being the janitor was his future career ...?
@@arstino I can recommend Chuck Palahniuk's novel "Rant"! In which he presents a very intriguing alternative for the Grandfather Paradox ...
It's interesting to know that they are the same person, yet their path diverge only because one guy trusted himself and the other don't.
AH-HA! That’s it! I was trying to figure out in a single sentence where and why they diverged. And you hit the nail on the head. Thank you.
I feel like the path branched when like you said one trusted and the other didnt. Jacketless guy went into the stall and came out whilst jacket guy didnt go into a stall which made these 2 versions of himself to coexist in which they both fight for their existance. The guy who trusted was more calm and got a better look at himself and learned more because he saw the non trusting version of himself become more deranged. It was the fight of the selfish and self healing versions. Best way I could explain it
It's crazy I thought the original guy was going to be the nice guy as I'm typing this I just realized the white shirt is the original guy because he came from the future 😂
@@mufinboi975 I don't get this point. When did the one virsion go one time, and other two time ? Can you explain ? I'm confused.
@@Tasmanian-Rebel true.. when the guy refused to go in the stall that saved him lol
I've seen a few movies over this basic idea. But I have never seen one this good. Brilliantly executed! Thank you.
A twenty minute clip is NOT a movie
@@fenwickc2274 It's still a moving picture, it just isn't feature length.
@@fenwickc2274 its a short movie
You should watch dark, it's a show on Netflix thats basically one huge time travel paradox
What a great mind bender...I can't imagine the complexities of filming and editing this. Bravo!
Omeleto does make all films they air them
@chloeanne5901 ?
The world building within a bathroom was incredible regardless of it being a closed space you made it feel like an open world with more to it despite not actually changing locations but by including later and past versions of yourself as signs of progression and change truly amazing
so true. It is fascinating to think about how time changes space. :)
That was amazing. Story, acting, editing, lighting, cinemaphotography all top notch. The run time matches with the story too, and that is always a plus when dealing with time. Really enjoyed this.
Ex-cell-ent!!! I’ve seen and read dozens of interpretations of time travel and the convoluted conflicts that might inevitably arise from it, but I’ve never seen anything quite like this. This film presented an entirely new set of obstacles. I do hope you paid that actor six or seven salaries. He certainly earned them!
YES!!
Lucky if he got 5 let’s be real. Not saying he isn’t a good actor btw
@@sfyrizo At the very least he's competent, since I ... DESPISED him.
That really was alot of obstacles , and the question is why was he in a time paradox. Was it to teach him a lesson , i wondered if the Janitor had something to do with it as he was rude to him ??.
Well, a couple of those didn't survive the film, so.....
One of the most well made and well choreographed time paradox/horror films I've seen, loved the character development. Pete's only enemy was himself the whole time and realizing he really was a bad person. I loved the small details and themes such as Pete with the jacket on and Pete without the jacket on having contrasting motives and personalities, showing his good and bad side. Ultimately his good side won, he killed his future, he went through the door.
You know, I rarely comment in RUclips. But I must say, this was one of the best short films I have seen. It is a time of film, that I believe whoever is/was stuck in a time loop must watch.
why don't you Comment more ,it's free
LMFAO
Ok
I don't know about time loops... but I live in a world where everyone walks around with blinders on
You should not have commented this time either
Did anyone else notice how the only one to leave the paradox was the paradox. The one who said "you were right" when the first one decided not to enter the stall to try and avoid the loop was the real one all along, which explains why the rest all came from the version of himself that was 30 minutes late for the meeting.. none of them even existed and had no right to exist in the first place.
waittt your saying the guy in the beginning was spawned for the paradox like he wasn’t the original
I think Bloody Pete is the outlier. Jacketless Pete, whom everyone thinks of as the outlier, was the one who "followed the program" given to him by his previous self. He is the original and necessary timeline that must exist in order for Bloody Pete to deviate from. Bloody Pete said no, somehow spawning 5 of his clones that Bloody Pete eventually kills. Jacketless Pete is from an innocent timeline in which they explore the mystery of the paradox, but Bloody Pete is the one who deviates and spawns the x6 homicide. Jacketless Pete is the only one who makes it out and the only one who wasn't derived from Bloody Pete. He calls Bloody Pete a bad person. To summarize, I do think Bloody Pete is the outlier. However, it is interesting to note that the timeline did indeed deviate. I'm not sure what kept the door to the outside locked, except perhaps the existence of Bloody Pete. Maybe the deviation in the timeline is the separation of the Original Pete's character into Bloody Pete and Jacketless Pete. Only while Bloody Pete existed would the door remain locked. The experience was to purify Original Pete into Jacketless Pete. And maybe the janitor is some otherworldly force as some people say or maybe it was Jacketless Pete years later.
@@littlefang7883 I'm sensing a strong Rick and Morty vibe with your naming conventions.. 😆
@@Nine_Divinestbh it's way easier for us mortals to understand that way😅😅😂
absolutely brilliant how after realizing he's a bad person he stops trying to fight the timeline and resets the paradox to ensure he always ends up escaping at the end
Gracias a tu comentario pude entender que en realidad se auto engañó, y dejándose así mismo como una mala persona y el mismo escogiendo su prisión. Para que la versión que escapara tuviera tiempo ⏱ hasta volverse a encontrar y reiniciar el tiempo. Y es ahí cuando ya decide morir que entra como anciano y toda su vida la hace bucle
Por eso la paradoja empieza y termina en el minuto 2:14 cuando él entra al baño.
El tuvo la oportunidad de cerrar el bucle, eliminando las notas del baño que anteriormente había puesto, colocando un papel nuevo apriori pero al darse cuenta que es una mala persona no lo cambia sino que lo deja afuera en el tiempo 2:11 del vídeo.
El viejito y el sin camisa crearon una paradoja dentro de la paradoja para así crear más tiempo ⏱ por eso en el min 10:25 no deja que ambas puertas estén cerradas.
En el min 11:00 se da cuenta que no ha pasado la escritura del papel higiénico y decide crearla. Para así escapar.
Por eso al salir en el 11:47 hay rastro de papel, es como la versión viejito planeo el escape
This is absolutely the best representation and media about time-travel I have ever seen. Everybody I know needs to see thiss
I've never seen the time travel paradox done so well. This was so perfect and amazing. Best video I've seen
The acting the filming the music the premise. It's just so perfect! I love the intended "scary" moments to the humor it's so well done. These actors work so well together!
Also it seems this incorporated all versions of a time paradox. Not saying these are perfect but it's the best I can come up with on the fly!
1. Predestination Paradox - up until he says "no" for the most part
2. Bootstrap paradox - this one can be several like (1.) but the biggest may be the gun
3. Grandfather Paradox - this is only possible due to the multiple time lines but killing himself(s) is a premise of this
4. Polchinskis Paradox - the bullet traveling from one time to another point in time in the same place
Man, you really got my brain cells flying.
Did you really just say these actors work well together? It’s all the same actor.
@@Name-oz4lq *woosh* went right over your head
As a movie lover and enthusiast i completely agree.
A very well made video with a paradox trying to walk out of a maze only to come back to very beginning of it , with interesting plot and dialogue which makes the viewers or audiences confused about who is the bad guy or the good guy , how to solve a never ending murder problem and overall for a video being only nineteen minutes it's very impressive better than a 1 hour action / thriller movie 😊!!!!
The realization and confrontation of the toxic ego. He battled all of his demons and made peace with himself. All inside a public bathroom. The old janitor could be him from the "future" (or his highest self/conscience maybe?). He said the same line and provided the extra roll of TP. Genius.
If it was him from the future it would mean that there is a time loop and either he went back in time to meet himself or the same guy keeps asking for a job as a janitor for years
@@MoonNexity I mean, after an experience like this you usually don't go to a meeting so I'm guessing he quit his job or got fired so he became a janitor
But there is 1 flaw if the old man is him. the eye color is different. for someone who thought about detailed story like this, I think they will consider to hire person with same eye color. Just saying.
@@ernovanchannel Maybe it's one of his guardian angels. Good point.
@@ernovanchannelit’s his grandson
moral of the story: don't mess with janitors because they might actually be time wizards
the janitor is him in the future
He bacame god of time and more wise
Or Janus the God of Changes
@@SwordTuneTHE NAME OF THE JANITOR IS JANUS
It’s incredible how such a powerful plot line can be compacted into such a small space with just two characters
Actually there is only one character.
@@klching4741
No no. There is the janitor
@@ladosdominik1506the janitor is him in the future
@@thickster
And what hints to that?
@@ladosdominik1506 just read the comments…
Here’s a few takes that I haven’t seen yet:
For clarification with whom I’m referring to:
John = John in the present, the present John is the John before he understands he’s an a-hole, basically John from the start.
Future John = John post time travel, this also refers to the janitor in one of the theories below. The future is referring to the time after the time travel concludes.
“Kill your future,” this initially is seen as killing his future self, but towards the end of the film it can be seen that it is referring to his future with his job.
It’s assumed that John is a businessman, and based on the start of the film it can be understood that being what is called “successful,” in the business world sometimes requires unethical behavior from people. This mirrors into John’s personal life, and he basically becomes an a-hole, especially when he’s doing his job.
He got a long look of himself from the 3rd person while the time traveling was happening. He began to understand what the janitor meant when he said, “You are a bad person.” Later repeating it to himself.
He realized the corruption he had, and what his job was doing to him in terms of how he treats others. The business deal/pitch mentioned at the start seemed like a life changing thing for him, and he really needed it. Thus, by giving that up, he “killed his future.”
Weather or not the janitor is John in older age, that’s hard to say. Although it’s important to note, the janitor noticed the lights flickering and seemed to realize the time paradox was happening. John becoming a janitor would make sense, as being a janitor isn’t seen as “successful” as being a businessman, even present John notes this when he says, “And you’re a janitor.”
However, it is unclear how the old janitor made it back in time to meet his younger self. It’s possible the janitor could be the mythical god Janus and so he controlled time itself, or perhaps the bathroom is a Time Machine. Janus on the janitor’s name tag could be a reference to the god being at work, but not necessarily that the janitor is Janus.
The ending of the story also implies that the janitor is necessary for the change in the future. So perhaps the janitor is actually John from the future, but BEFORE John has the time travel experience and changes his life.
Basically John went through with the business, something happened, and so he ended up being a janitor. After the time travel, John changes his life and doesn’t become a janitor anymore - he changed the timeline, like mentioned when assessing the situation.
The janitor (future John, before the time travel) was cleaning a bathroom and saw his younger self walk in. He remembered what happened after the business deal, and where he ended up. So he said those words, left a roll of TP, and the entire thing started. The present John came out of it realizing who he was and changed that so he wouldn’t become a janitor, he killed his future self because the future him as a janitor no longer existed.
Small correction: MCs name is Pete not John. John is the other coworker who was gonna take his place in the meeting.
This is great, except he actually has a name. He gets referred to as "Pete" by his coworker on the phone, as well as talking to his corpse, saying something along the lines of "you were a good man, Pete." So you don't have to use John as a placeholder name, his name's been clarified.
But if he killed the future (janitor) then who would go back in time to change his corrupt businessman past?
What I'm thinking makes sense, is that the janitor is the god, creating the paradox to make our MC have a look at how much of a bad person he is. The paradox continues along two lines, one where he embraces his selfish values and only thinks about personal gain, which makes him think that the idea of 'killing his future' means killing the other versions of him from different timelines. The good version is the one who did not arrive at the same conclusion that he has to be the last one standing, where we even see him trying to help his past self by explaining how closing and opening the stalls sends them to different timelines. What is especially noticeable is how the bad Pete does not care about any other versions, not even giving them a passing thought on how they are essentially all the same person, while the good Pete is an observer of this behavior where he is disregarded by himself. So in conclusion, I think the 'kill your future' does not necessarily refer to his job/current life in general, but more so the current path he is travelling, which would in the end make him become exactly what the good version of him feels repulsed by. Very interesting film and this is just one of many interpretations.
@@兒 that's what I was thinking ...isn't he then an anomaly?
This was done really well. The timing and flow of the whole was excellent, as was the writing. I really liked this one and I’m surprised I needed RUclips suggestions in order to bring me this gem. Why isn’t there more buzz around this one?
I wonder how RUclips's algorithm works.
I wonder if it might be based on the popularity of the video.
"Come on, the math test isn't that confusing!"
The math test:
I like how each toilet stall has a different form of time travel, one travels you to two different places in time, another to the past, and I can’t remember what the rest did
Took me a while but i think i got it, it's like you said
First door: Two different places in time (large time difference)
Second door: It's only used once by jacketless Pete at 7:06
Third door: Two different places in time (short time difference)
Fourth door: Goes back to the past
Survivor Pete uses door 1 to escape bloody Pete from the past and used door 3 to go back to that future bloody Pete and send him back to the other past bloody Pete through door 1. Genius, though i don't know how he figured these mechanics so quickly.
@@victorjun2421so the second door is only used by jacketless Pete, which is the only one who agreed to just get into the stall from the beginning...
He seems to be the odd one out from the others
@@TrickBrawlStars2001 seems like it, he was the only one who we didn't get to see how he was created
@@victorjun2421theory, it’s probably looped for millions of theoretical years and finally one pete decided to take off his jacket and go in the stall and one jackeltess pete was created
This has to be the greatest short film I’ve ever seen!! It even puts some box office movies to shame
I can't get enough of this video. I watched it 3 months ago. Now I am rewatching it and still had to pause and rewind to make complete sense of everything. I love this video.
Watching for the first time and had to pause en rewind for the second time think I sorta understand but not complettely in the end did he go back to the first timeline and if so will it al start over again because last guy wrote 2 notes but in the first timeline it was only the note don’t panic I need answers😅😅
I've already rewatched this more than 10 times
Have any of you figured out why the guy in the phone says it's 3:30 at the beginning of the video when his watch says it's 3:10?
@@benjoyce8034 I have not thought about it. Let me re watch it and the I might be able to discuss. Or... give us your hypothesis
@@benjoyce8034because the time paradox probably started 20 minutes before the first guy we follow. Meaning the guy we’re following wasn’t the original. Which makes sense to the story as there were future versions of him
This film had a GENIUS writing, genius edition and cool scenes. All of this is pure GOLD. WELL DONE 👌
Absolutely brilliant. Keep up the excellent work!!
I am 1000% going to write that on the roll the next time I'm in a public restroom.
And then proceed to lock the door to the men's room from the outside with someone still inside?
@@kenster8270 how did you insert a picture word 🤔 My youtube doesn't support it ?
Don't Panic! Was also in Hitchhickers guide to the galaxy.
SAME
Ditto
Absolute masterpiece, I enjoyed this more than half the movies I see nowadays.
ikr!
This is really good I wasn't expecting this to be so good, I love the concept of time travel and time paradoxes, they confuse the HELL out of me but they are so fascinating to me, which is why I LOVE all the little details and hints throughout this whole thing, well done I am honestly really really impressed in this!
This was incredible! This concept should be expanded into an entire anthology series where each episode a person needs to resolve the paradox
No. It would get really tiring, the gimmick does not suit itself well to an extended retelling. The length of this short is perfect.
@@thisrandomdude_I agree trying to do this several times while having to juggle making new ways to make it fresh and having the audience care for each character having to restart every time wouldn’t track in any kind of long form content
Someone show this to Nolan 😅
This concept you mention kinda reminds me of Infinity Train but on a really fast pace
Or a tale of different paradoxes, not only this one. That could work and it's not a bad idea
Does anyone notice in start he says its 3:10 and incall person says its 3:30 which means he is already in 20 min paradox and thats what the video is 20 min long after which he leaves balancing time chain....brilliant writing
This is absolutely the best representation and media about time-travel I have ever seen. Everybody I know needs to see this
Watch Primer. Hands down best time travel movie EVER made. Seems simple at first, then the last 15 minutes is sheer insanity and you're trying to catch your breath. After you watch it you should look up images of the timeline for it. Not only is it 100% logical, it's simultaneously overwhelming and over the top.
@@vulpinemachine Watch Triangle. This is my personal favourite time travel movie so far, but I will take a look at Primer
is it just me or i feel like we need a sequal like this is top tier
Thank you for this well made piece of filming a story.
If you keep yourself surrounded by bastards which could be other people or your other toxic versions and patterns, you'll keep looping in the same circle and never getting out of your own dilemma. loved it
Thats why if you're a toxic but powerful person, you need to surround yourself with patsies, and not people like yourself. After all, vampires cannot live off other vampires
@@RaptorFromWeegee Vampire: The Masquerade alongside a few other iterations disagree-Those whose vampiric curse is strong enough can ONLY live off of other vampires.
@@NuniaBiznaz I was speaking metaphorically.
One man, one set, and more entertaining than a lot of what Hollywood has put out in the last few years. Good job on this one.
What about the janitor? Is he the same actor?
@@madelinelove5150nah but the character is
THE BEST short film I have EVER seen. I would seriously watch a 4 hour movie of this.
I love how the only one that survives was the original guy that trusted himself to go back in the stall
The slow process of improvement by questioning your self and killing some parts to become a better person wrapped in a self coherent time paradox. Loved it.
How did they even do a script breakdown for this crazy twisted plot and figure out the shot order. Preproduction and editing must have been fun...
10:05 By the way, the gun is a "bootstrap paradox". It's when an object has no origin because it is caught in a time loop. In this case, the gun came from nowhere because, the guy who killed himself got the gun from the previous guy who killed himself, who got the gun from the previous previous guy who killed himself... and it keeps going infinitely
WELL DONE!!!!! This is one of the best short films I have ever seen! I don't have access to enough capital letters or exclamation points to emphasis that. Jacob Daniels did an AMAZING job with this part. This had to be a really hard movie to make from everyone's point of view. Writing, directing, editing, acting; you name it, this one was complicated. In short, I absolutely loved it! Two BIG thumbs up.
i need his handle. he's invincible online. a million dollars if you can help
did you like it?
There is one Pete duplicate unaccounted for. In total we see six copies of Pete, (not including the janitor) and the ending scene shows five bodies and one morally changed Pete. However, the first Pete, the one that survived, claims when we first see him that he saw a future version of himself explain the time travel to him. We never meet this seventh Pete, and it makes me wonder if a version of Pete got trapped in the paradox forever, since he never got a chance to see himself and reflect on his actions.
oh shite, you're right! The Pete that explained it to the morally awoken one isn't accounted for!
Maybe the janitor version
The janitor was also a pete
The janitor is the Pete that survived, the morally changed one, from the future.
That was also the surviving Pete, just talking to himself. The missing Pete and the surviving Pete diverged in the path when the third Pete to show up, the one we followed from the start, said they wouldn't go into the stall. The odds of the two different Petes who experienced different scenarios saying the same thing in the same way are slim to none.
THIS IS AMAZING. Literally Oscar worthy. Also felt so much like a black mirror episode. Loved it.
Just imagine how it would be crazy cool if the janitor was him too! Like all this time in a distant future, as if he had never ever escaped, and the initial scene of the janitor leaving the bathroom, is the exact moment when he finally manages to escape the paradox 🤯
Amazing that I can randomly find an entertaining well written story on YT. Than I can on Netflix.
1:22
This line hits different once you get to the end of the paradox.
Also 13:15 is when his "dark" side starts winning (flickering lights+Dark Suit) but at 16:30 his "good" side starts winning. (Lights stop flickering+switches to a white shirt at 16:52)
I think the flickering lights signify he's stuck in a time paradox but when the lights stop flickering he knows he's going to get out.
This is brilliant. The context is full of time paradoxes yet the storyline is not confusing.
I've never been this not confused
It lost me at the last request part
@@warnertesla8297 For that part he's telling himself to ask for a last request of privacy, giving himself the idea. 16:34 is where he realizes what he said to himself earlier.
First time I've watched a short story without any spoilers in a very long while, VERY good. This is insanely clever, I love it.
The storyboard for this must have been a nightmare to put together... Congratulations on a superb production.
Great ending. You had me guessing to the very end. Nice to see some very creative writing
This kept me glued, story itself shows that indeed we fight with our own ego and toxic versions of ourselves. Right down from the cinematography down to the acting...10/10
imagine if the door would be open all the time, but he did pull instead of push
I noticed him pulling down every single time, and kept waiting for him to push up on the handle, instead.