Short Film Spotlight: Into Temptation

The lingering effects of abuse and trauma are explored in Into Temptation, a deeply provocative 20-minute drama from writer-director Quinn da Matta.

Michael, played as an adult by Juan Manuel Salcito and as a young boy by Jaxon Ballenger, was abused by his priest, a trusted authority figure and friend, as a child. Tom McClaren, who plays the priest in both flashbacks and the present setting, starts the film off tied to a bed.

As a kid, Michael took the older man’s manipulative declarations of love literally. He doesn’t feel like a victim, but rather an equal partner whose romance was unfairly interrupted by outside forces.

Now that he’s been reunited with the object of his infatuation, he’s willing to go to extreme lengths to make the priest understand his feelings and honor the promises he once made.

To Michael, his actions are an expression of a deep, abiding love. But, it’s a twisted, dangerous and warped sense of love that he can’t genuinely comprehend due to his manipulation and abuse such a young age.

Into Temptation begins as a revenge thriller but carefully transforms into a thought-provoking drama that explores the consequences of sexual abuse on a minor and the lingering psychosexual effects.

Watch a short trailer for Into Temptation below. The short film is now available on Dekkoo.