Hopeless. That's how the prisoner at the center of Portal: No Escape, a short film cut by jumP's David Trachtenberg, directed by Danny T, feels. Under constant video surveillance, she bounces around her cell, exercises, sits dolefully on her cot, picks at the food tossed through a trap door at regular intervals - whatever she must to bear her circumscribed existence.
But the film, based upon Valve Corporation and EA's hit videogame franchise, blows up into a full-scale action flick when the prisoner discovers a cannon hidden in the wall - a high-powered device capable of creating portals to abet her escape. As guards burst in to stop her, she outwits them continually in a thrilling chase to the rooftop, where she stands poised to flee the place forever.
The film quickly surpassed two million hits on YouTube and has become a must-mention in the blogosphere. "I can't believe the momentum Portal has gained so quickly," noted David. "This was a really cool personal project for me in that I was able to team up with my brother, but professionally, the results have been unreal."