Returning to the HollyShorts Film Festival (13-23 Aug), King of the Iron Will offers something a bit different from the smaller, intimate stories I have sampled so far.
King of the Iron Will (Scott Vickers, 2026)
This one is something of a curio – set in a kind of Game of Thrones universe and presented in Shakespearian language, King of the Iron Will is a little too short to place its plot in context.
At just 13 minutes, this film – directed by Scott Vickers, and co-written by Vickers and one of the film’s stars, Liam James Collins – looks great and thrives on a revenge plot.
Collins and Charlie Creed-Miles are the pair of Kings, Draven and Baron, who have no love for each other. There’s a sense of mythology that feels Gaelic, and a symbol on a neck chain, but without more exposition that’s all I could figure out.
Digging more into background information I find the location filming was done in Scottish castles, and the plot is unsurprisingly about trauma and vengeance.
The trouble with this kind of topic is that there is always a danger of toppling into parody, especially when coupled with a language structure that doesn’t fit the Medieval setting.
King of the Iron Will may appeal to those who love revenge plots, whether Titus Andronicus, Django or even Taxi Driver. It needs a bit more purpose and backstory to convince at its current length.
King of the Iron Will is part of this year’s HollyShorts Film Festival.