Christopher Nolan's student film showed what a cinematic genius he would become

Christopher Nolan's student film has been branded a 'masterpiece', proving he was 'a risk-taker from the get-go'.

With the acclaimed director's latest flick Oppenheimer hitting $80.5 million at the box office in its first three days of release and having directed iconic movies such as The Dark Knight and Inception, it's no wonder the 53-year-old is considered one of the leading filmmakers of the 21st Century.

However, while he's a master of his craft now, practice makes perfect and the short films Nolan created while studying at University College of London (UCL) play a role in how he got himself to where he is today.

You may think you've seen all of Nolan's masterpieces - from Dunkirk toTenet and latest release Oppenheimer - but have you seen his student short film Doodlebug?

The three-minute psychological thriller was written, directed and shot by Nolan in 1997 during his time at uni.

Doodlebug tells the tale of a man trying to kill a bug-like creature which is in his flat, growing more anxious and paranoid as he fails to catch it.

The film was shot on 16mm film and while it was branded as an 'unremarkable student film' by The Independent writer Christopher Hooton, fans of Nolan's more recent work see it as a strong indicator of his future success to come.

Getty Images/ Pascal Le Segretain

The short film has a whole host of reviews from fans of the director on Rotten Tomatoes.

One comment reads: "One of Christopher Nolan's earliest film projects, Doodlebug isn't as smart and as well-thought-out as the man's future endeavours (it was clear he was inexperienced at this time and was still a student; from what I've heard, his first movie 'Following' is very much a glorified student film) but it's use of black-and-white, ending that provides metaphors that make me happy that YouTube comments exist and use of mundane, yet still decent-for-its-tiny-budget make it a nostalgic look at Nolan's humble beginnings...and likely to give fans of his work further appreciation for how far he's come since then."

Another user rates the short film nine out of 10, arguing it proves Nolan 'is a risk-taker from the get-go'.

"With a Lynchian atmosphere, Nolan created an ambitious short film that relies on visual metaphors to represent a familiar, yet important, moral message. The editing in general, and the sound editing in particular, is very exquisite, and intensified the moody and dark atmosphere that matches what the short film indicates very well," they state.

You can catch the 'nine out of 10' short film here:

A third user reflected on the film as a 'bizarre little experiment' but 'worth a watch, if only to witness Nolan's extremely humble beginnings'.

They add: "[It's] a far cry from his recent films, and while it's as cheap as you can imagine, and there's not much you can do within the span of three minutes, it does have some hints of cleverness, primarily in how the camera moves to illustration the fright and frustration experienced by our nameless lead character."

However, a Google reviewer resolved: "Wow. Just wow. This thrilling short by the legendary director Christopher Nolan is a masterpiece that just stuns you within the limited three minute duration! I felt as if was watching something bigger in terms of scale, and was left stunned by the time it ended.

"For a 1997 indie production, it deftly manages to package action, suspense, CGI and a pretty good twist by the time the end credits flash. Overall, an impressive piece by the director who is revered for similarly mind-bending as well as entertaining feature-length blockbusters."

If you want to continue your fix, the UNILAD team recently ranked every single one of Nolan's movies, and the results are pretty contentious, to say the least.