A man wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of how he got there. But in this world of flickering lights and vanishing people, that might be the least of his worries in Martin Del Carpio’s I Exist.
Del Carpio Goes Experimental With I Exist
Martin Del Carpio’s latest short, I Exist, leans fully into the experimental horror space he has quietly made his own. Over the past few years, Del Carpio has carved out a curious corner of the indie circuit with a number of quiet, brooding, and genre blurring shorts. Titles like The Double Room, Goodbye and Hello My Dearest, and To Take a Step with You have earned him festival attention, and his newest work adds another film to that ethereal, moody lineup.
This time, he brings us into a desolate hospital where a man named Jordan (Giovanni Sandoval) wakes with a black eye and little memory. His surroundings are stark. His questions, unanswered. Sitting across from him is a mysterious room mate (Alan Tavarez) who waxes philosophical and welcomes Jordan to what he calls his own humble abode. He is strange, calm, and unnerving, but also oddly friendly. That conversation is the only real anchor Jordan has in this increasingly dreamlike space. That is until a nurse arrives. Played by Tessie Herrasti, Nurse Linda checks his vitals and listens to his confusion. Then comes the twist. When Jordan mentions the room mate, she looks concerned. There is no one else in the room.
From there, I Exist becomes a mostly silent walk through sterile corridors and empty rooms. Jordan begins exploring the hospital, only to find that there is no one else around. No beds, no equipment, no other patients. Just silence. The spaces themselves seem to have lost their function, as if abandoned not just by people but by time. Occasionally, the Keeper appears again. Sometimes both men flicker, blurring into ghostly forms, feeding in and out of the frame like apparitions caught on camera. Are they dead? Dreaming? Caught in some kind of purgatory? The film never answers that directly, and that is very much the point.
As far as execution goes, I Exist does just enough to hold the viewer’s attention across its 15 minute runtime. There is no plot in the traditional sense, and no real arc or escalation of threat. It is not that kind of horror film. It is an atmosphere piece, a mood, more interested in unsettling its audience than telling a structured story. That will work for some. Others may find themselves checking the time.
Visually, the film is simple but has some effective moments. The corridor shot near the start, bathed in muted hospital light, is well composed, and the introduction of the nurse is nicely handled. The cinematography by William J. Murray favours over the shoulder coverage for the initial dialogue scenes, then settles into wide, distant shots as Jordan explores. The transitions and fades add a surreal quality, especially in scenes where characters flicker in and out of visibility. Nothing flashy, but consistent with the tone.
Sound design is handled with restraint, while the score — also composed by Del Carpio — is perhaps the strongest element of the entire film. It is haunting without being overbearing, and adds a much needed layer of unease to the otherwise quiet visual approach. That, combined with the grainy filter applied to the image, helps the short feel more cinematic than its microbudget roots might suggest.
Performance wise, Giovanni Sandoval is believable in the lead, carrying most of the film with expressions of confusion and growing anxiety. Alan Tavarez adds a welcome sense of strangeness, playing his part like a man who knows too much but chooses to speak in riddles. Tessie Herrasti has only a short appearance, but she does what is needed in the role of the nurse who may or may not be real.
The main critique here is familiarity. While competently made and certainly well intentioned, the short does tread very familiar ground. A dazed man in a strange hospital, a cryptic guide, a couple of moody monologues, and then a few shots of a man walking around empty corridors. We have seen variations of this before, from music videos to early student projects to similar experimental horror shorts. That is not to say it is without merit, but it never quite surprises or startles the way it clearly hopes to.
Still, for fans of this particular type of slow, meditative horror, I Exist does offer a solid example of what can be done with minimal dialogue and a strong sense of tone. It is not trying to be a jump scare machine or a traditional ghost story. It is a quiet slice of existential dread. Whether that lands or lingers will depend on the viewer.
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