The longer I am on this planet, the more I am convinced of the fact that we may not be alone in the universe. From the Roswell incident in the 60s to modern-day UFO sightings, the prospect of alien contact is both exciting and terrifying. Imagine then, a world where we have already been visited… or perhaps a world where we are the visitors. Such is the backdrop of Ray Sullivan’s science-fiction short film, Good Business.

The incredibly tense short film puts us right in the middle of an arms deal. Humans are the dealers, with some alien race called “skwoids” wanting in on some of our strongest firearms. It seems like this is humanity’s bid to get into the skwoids good graces, as it is implied that “we are getting a nice piece of real estate” for the deal. It is also implied that we are the invaders since the leading arms dealer claims that the deal was set up so “the current residents kill each other off at no extra cost”.

The short film ends with the American dealer telling his Russian partner that humanity is already at war… the skwoids just do not know it yet. That is until the camera pans to show what two little skwoids were up to underneath their vehicle. This begs the question: have the skwoids known all along?

This is an incredibly gripping little short film that I wish never ended. I would love to see what transpired before and after this little deal. Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 taught me that human societies can be very cruel and that we have an insatiable appetite to govern over other species. It is refreshing to see how humanity is now at the low-end of the rat race. So low, in fact, that they have to make arms deals with the local alien population to get out on top.

The short film is based on a comic penned by Simon Roy and printed in Heavy Metal Magazine in 2009. While I have never seen, or read this comic, it is available in Jan’s Atomic Heart and Other Stories comic series from Image Comics. Getting the entire collection will cost you around $14 USD (~R190 ZAR) on Amazon, or R127.81 ZAR on Google Books.

Good Business recently received a Golden Shark at the 2017 Kinsale Shark Awards for best in the category Best VFX. Now just imagine this being turned into a full-feature film. Shut up and take my money!

[Sources: Amazon, Facebook, Google Books, Vice Motherboard]

Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.