A concept piece by Kyle Magocs, 'Desert Eagle' is a surreal fantasy adventure that focuses on imagery to pull the viewer in. It works, for the most part, but starts off a bit vague, leaving the viewer to wonder what exactly is happening. As far as story goes, the concept is simple, the character is shipwrecked on an island that comes alive at night. Well, the dead come alive, and other mysterious events happen. The problem is, the introduction to the night sequence isn’t all that clear, which puts the movie off on a shaky foot. The presentation is clean and fitting for this sort of film. Magocs’ camera moves almost every scene, giving it a more music video-like feel to it, rather than a cinematic feel. Some camera moves are a bit fast to see what’s going on, but given the nature of the film, it seems to fit better than it might have been intended to. Visually, the movie is solid, with the fantasy imagery being the main draw of the visuals. Magocs was aiming for a stylistic rather than realistic look, and that he achieves. Several effects, such as fire daemons, attacking trees and water effects are quite well done. There are some visual flaws, such as nasty crosshatching on a long establishing shot, but the overall strength outweighs the problems. Sound is a mixed bag. On one hand, it is a music video-type film, which dictates the sound should be just music, but at times the lack of dramatic sound effects did bring the experience down. No footsteps, crashes, or explosions to emphasize the action fit the style of the film, but I felt it could have done well if Magocs had included some bit of sound along with the soundtrack. Although practically lacking storytelling elements, the conceptual feel of this film is fresh and new. If you’re looking for a narrative and engrossing story, this isn’t the film to watch. For a neat concept with well enough execution, Magocs has brought together this pleasant little film. Review by Andrew Salter - 7/10.

A great opener to the Film Fest, this is Kyle's surreal tale of an island that seems peaceful at first, but grows darker during the night. It's a pretty original idea for a story, and Kyle made it work well. The animation is really good, possibly the best part of the flick, although the scenery, with excellent uses of v3dmm and mainly Superdings, almost bests it. The special effects in the movie are great, such as the face in the fire, and the music fit very well, changing at just the right time. Overall, Kyle Magocs does it again, creating another short but sweet film that will hopefully put an end to the pattern of his movies being largely ignored. A recommended download. Review by Tom Bown - 8/10.

There is going to have to be a very convincing movie to follow this superb Film Fest opener. 'Desert Eagle' is a fantastical twist of awe-inspiring visual graphics and a wondrous theme of a mystical island-turned-land-of-the-dead. The music, although slightly dated and monotanous, fits the film very well, and the scenery, although lacking a lot of texture is well constructed, mainly out of Superdings. The panning and camerawork slots nicely into the film, if used a little too much, and this shows strongest when parts of the scenery break up and look 'amateurish'. v3dmm is used well throughout, and is also used greatly in context. Overall, Desert Eagle is a wonderous little film to watch, and was selected as the perfect movie to open the Film Fest with. A Recommended Download. Review by Richard Bevis - 8/10.

Kyle seems to have the gift of creating short and sweet movies to start up Film Festivals. In the Winter of 2004, he brought us 'Peak', a short movie which showed how dedicated he is to 3dmm. 'Desert Eagle' continues this knack of his for making movies that are nothing over a couple of minute in runtime, but either leave you with a dropped-jaw with a finger eager to click play again. The use of Aaron Haynes's Superdings expansion for v3dmm is put to great use, and a great example of such a tool can be used well. Like Peak there is no dialogue, just a journey involving a Doreamon character accompanied by music. This time the idea starts off a little bit like 'Cast Away', before turning into a supernatural adventure. I won't reveal anymore about it, but it must be said that Kyle has indeed given us some very nice eye candy to feast upon, coupled with some nice decent animations and scenery. Decent and original. Lets see whats up next... Review by Ben Rice - 7/10.