Murphy's Ranch (2025)

-Written by Michelle Vorob.

2026 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!

Are you ready for an 80s style action thriller, reminiscent of The A-Team, Knight Rider, or Magnum P.I.? Murphy's Ranch is a short film by John Michael Riva Jr., in which pool cleaning brothers uncover a dangerous, hidden agenda by nefarious forces and make a plan to take action.

Nate (Hosea Chanchez) and Asher (Lee Pugsley) arrive at a beautiful, modern house to clean and assess a pool that's losing water with no clear cause. Asher has special diagnostic equipment, as he's legally blind [Pugsley is also legally blind]. The homeowner, Mr. Simmons (Edward Fletcher), makes rude remarks about Asher's ability [or lack thereof] to even work as a pool cleaner, let alone discover what's wrong, but it turns out the equipment not only helps Asher with the diagnostics, it aids in uncovering a secret plot with disastrous effects, if successful. 

Murphy's Ranch is entertaining right from the start, up to the finish, based on the real Murphy's Ranch in Los Angeles. There's something about the 80s-style credits and soundtrack that pulled me in and honestly, I wish this was a feature length film. Being a short, Riva explores a concept and sets up a plot, but at 11 minutes, this story is too complex to complete in such a short span of time. It plays like the opening sequence of a film that you can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Normally, I enjoy sharing a lot of details about the films I review, but in the case of Murphy's Ranch, you need to be surprised by what happens. I don't think the effect would be exactly the same if you knew all the specifics beforehand. I can't stop you from Googling, but I suggest you wait until after you finish Murphy's Ranch to do a deep dive into the real history.

Now, I happened upon Murphy's Ranch by exploring this year's selections for the Slamdance festival, not knowing it starred Lee Pugsley, when I reviewed another great short film with Pugsley for last year's Slamdance festival, Audio Description [available on YouTube]. The 2026 Slamdance festival was held in Los Angeles from February 19 to 25, 2026, and is available virtually from February 24 to March 6, 2026, on the Slamdance Channel. 

I look forward to seeing more projects with Pugsley and will be pretty excited if Riva is able to turn Murphy's Ranch into a feature film.

Written & Directed by John Michael Riva Jr. 

Starring Hosea Chanchez, Lee Pugsley, Edward Fletcher, Jack Michael Doke, etc. 

8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING