Layover

starring: NICOLE MATTOX & SAM MYERSON

Mistaken identity throws together risk assessor Brad and air hostess Violet at a hotel in Las Vegas… I don’t want to say more. Best vertical I have ever seen.

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

At the beginning of this year it felt any attempt at innovation in verticals was stomped out. It won't work. The data says otherwise. And data over ruled common sense and creativity, and led verticals down the spiralling chasm of AI

Enter @superpunchystudios who have torn up the 'rule book' refused to compromise their vision and created two of the best verticals out there.

Layover elevates the art form, director @salpaskowitz has leant into the 9.16 frame and made cinema

@sammyerson is extraordinary. His physicality, the way he wrings his hands, and then gleefully punches near the end and 'I think I'm winning' Plus this story is told largely from the male POV. Sam pulls us in

I love that @nicolemattox character isn't a repeat of Step by Step, Violet is awkward, and there are some superb comedy moments and a stellar turn by her shower cap

@haleylohrli and @makennaginn have brief, effective turns

@sethedeen is superb as the mate who eggs Brad on, and forces him to finally take a risk

And then @mmactuj with a memorable Irish accent, pair of hot pants and tweak

Im struggling to articulate how good this is, moments of inspired comedy (the stag party asking about shoes) to raw emotion when we find out who Amy is.

It’s vertical cinema.

And I feel privileged to have been here to see this little moment of history made.

🏆 I’m throwing out the usual template for reviews

I set up this account to write silly reviews of silly verticals. I have most swoonworthy moment, scene stealer etc. I always knew verticals had potential. We all knew that. This is art. It feels disrespectful to use my usual format.

I have just sat and cried watching this, the only time I have done that before is In Other Words I Love You. It is the coming together of so many aspects. A story that does not need to feed into vertical loops but keeps you gripped.

The most innovative selection of shots and use of frame that make you feel like a bystander, but perfectly fit every moment. A wonderful, hazy, nostalgic 1970s aesthetic and use of big band music that ebbs and flows with the plot.

To watch something that so confidently flits between comedy and awkwardness, fear and exhilaration, small moments and big reveals. It is art, and every vertical actor needs to form a queue to work with Superpunchy.

Because the team here don’t write to a type, actors are allowed to be more and fully inhabit different characters. Which means you have career best performances in particular from Sam Myerson who brings a Dustin Hoffman style nervous energy combined with the comic reactions of Cary Grant.

There have been wonderful vertical projects and performances before, but I haven’t seen one which is such a complete package.

You can watch this on silent and marvel at the composition and camera angles. It’s breathtaking and points to a future where film makers play with and develop their own visual style within the vertical frame, and these are words I never thought I would type.

Yes I am jet-lagged, but it is this good.

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director: Salvador Pascowitz | 2026

Available on Superpunchy