Director/co-writer Craig Railsback gives us the 2025 “Sci-Fi” short film: The Job. It is, in essence, “in the cards” so to speak. A mind altering moment at an interview where questions are asked by an AI bot. There are also a very special deck of cards on hand.
*Railsback shares writing credit with Heather Joseph-Witham.*
The Job Story
Per IMDb.com: “Recovering from a trauma, Todd interviews for a job and finds redemption instead of employment.” Todd seems pretty upbeat until he meets the interviewer and spies the cards on the desk.
The Job Cast
LeJon is Todd.
Dawna Lee Heising is Athena 2.0.
Let’s Talk The Job
Todd is pretty hyped about his job interview. He enters the office to find a hand lettered sign on the door. It says, “Take a seat, we’ll be right back.” It also contains a smile.
Later he enters the door, with the sign, and plugs in an electrical cord. Thus begins the interview.
The idea of having an “AI bot” to conduct the job interview is slightly unnerving. Perhaps even more than the use of Tarot cards. Yup! You’re right, these magical cards are part of the Q&A session Todd is taking.
Athena 2.0 has attitude for days and segues from annoyance to enthusiasm throughout. Todd, however, runs the gamut of emotions after each card is turned over.
He suffers from, apparent, memories, regrets and sadness. This is pretty much the Job interview from H*ll. Unlike other films; say, for example Exam (2009) where a “test” was used to verify eligibility, The Job chucks normalcy right out of the old window.
It Works
The Job works brilliantly as both a preview of possible events, or an awakening. By the time Todd yanks the plug on the wretched interview, we feel that this dreamlike interlude reveals a lot.
There are a lot of questions raised by the short film, a run time of just under 16 minutes, and it would be interesting to see a follow-on project. We have no real idea of what type of job Todd is applying for or what prompted him to seek it.
The music, singing of confession, seems to be a clue of sorts. Regardless of any questions raised, the interaction between LeJon and Heising drives the film forward admirably. The two bounce off one another capably and it feels quite intense throughout.
Railsback also performs duty as the cinematographer and presumably the editor. The musical score composer, Renah Wolzinger gives a spot on score and also provides brilliant animation for the AI screen.
The Verdict
The Job rates a solid 3.75 stars out of 5. It manages to keep the interest level high and it is, at the very least, rather thought provoking. You will be thinking about this one long after you watch it.
The Trailer
