The great Kenneth Branagh was kind enough to give up one day of work to appear in this short film, written and directed by his frequent stand-in, Phil Stoole. Coming in at a scant 17 minutes, SCHNEIDER'S 2ND STAGE is a psychological horror yarn at its most disturbing. Stoole cleverly puts the low budget to an advantage, making the story essentially about one guy alone in the bleak woods. The weirdo phone calls tie it in with the likes of PHONE BOOTH, but SCHNEIDER'S 2ND STAGE is something much more sinister and disturbing; the serial killer subject matter is definitely for adults only. This film is a roaring success thanks to Branagh's incredible acting, which is as strong and self-assured as ever. A mini masterpiece!

I saw this the year it came out, listed on a site called "Atom Films" and, having been a fan of Mr. Branagh's for years already, I downloaded it. After watching it the first time, I sat back and thought about it for a few minutes. "Geeze...This instills an even deeper love for this actor in me!" I remember thinking. After about 20 minutes of reflection, I watched it again. After this, I sent a link to virtually everyone I knew, telling them to watch the genius that is Kenneth in this shortie. They all came back with extremely positive reviews for this film. The suspense, and superb acting put forward in this short puts this film at the top of my all time favorite shorts list, and anyone I know could tell you...I'm very VERY picky about my favorites lists. I urge every single fan of Thrillers and or of Mr. Branagh's to go find this film and watch it. Seriously.

This is the first short film that I had ever seen. Before this I thought they were all just a waist of time but this was incredibly intense and disturbing.Kenneth Branagh Is a phenomenal actor and he didn't disappoint in this thriller.It's hard to write about this without spoiling anything so I'll be careful not to. This is an incredible psychological thriller. Brilliantly acted, and filmed in a way that will thoroughly frighten and disturb anyone who watches it.This is close to Hitchcock in more ways than one. Its only 16 minutes so It won't take too long.

This is a very strange film, and rather disturbing. Not what many people would expect from Ken Branagh. It leaves you guessing, even after the end. Try to see!