"Hindrance" is the second short film, written and directed by Mark Schoonmaker. It's considerably darker and more of an ambitious project. Paranormal investigator Dean Fray hired by the power hungry Mr. Webb to capture thirteen ghosts, and it's upon him hunting down the final ghost that the tragic series of events in this film take place. Webb's voice over states that the thirteenth ghost is the "final piece of the puzzle in my quest for power", defining him from the offset as a man who will stop at nothing in the quest for immortality.
Not only is the film double the length of "Pitch Black Heist," Schoonmaker's first short film, technically "Hindrance" is clearly a big step for the young filmmaker. The use of voice over, on location nighttime shooting, a narrative that revolves around suspense, murder and mystery (not to mention close-ups of smoking cigarettes) all lend noir feel to "Hindrance" both in narratology and aesthetic. Subsequently this combination plus the presence of Stopher (Dean Fray) might serve as a reminder to sci-fi fans of Harrison Ford's character, Decker from Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner." This time around, Schoonmaker has made more use of subjectivity, using point-of-view shots to place the audience directly in the action as opposed to giving the spectator the role of bystander as in "Pitch Black Heist." In terms of auteurship, he has taken the elements that made "Pitch Black Heist" work and improved on them, most significantly the threatening music and sci-fi/noir narrative. In doing this, Schoonmaker has achieved a film that is a significantly more mature, and a significantly more accomplished project.