Watch The Fantastic Fest Fave Short Film COST OF LIVING!

Right up front disclosure: I'm friends with BenDavid Grabinski. But rather than make me more likely to enjoy his short film, Cost of Living, it made me really nervous I would hate it. How do you tell your buddy that his work is bad? I'm sure I'll have to have that conversation with him some day, but that day is not now, as I really, really like Cost of Living.

And it isn't just me; Cost of Living played at Fantastic Fest, where it got lots of attention and love. Hell, the bit at the end of the credits got a real big round of applause. And best of all? It's not a fan film. It's not a mash-up. It's not a supercut. It's fun and it's funny, and it's got Brandon Routh doing a raspy tough guy voice. Listen for Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the voice of the computer.

You should really embiggen this video to full screen - it's really well-shot and deserves the screen space.

COST OF LIVING from BenDavid Grabinski on Vimeo.

Click here for more information and lots of behind the scenes stuff. Tell me what you think in the comments below.