Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019
Images from the Internet
Christmas Presence
Directed by Henrique Couto
New Dynamic
5:15 minutes, 2015
You’ll see Couto’s
name crop up a couple of times in these reviews. Taking the trope of a
babysitting job gone bad, Couto moves it in an interesting Holiday direction.
The babysitter (perky Julia Gomez) gets a last minute gig thanks to a friend being
sick (Alia Gabrielle Eckhardt). The house is owned by some holiday fanatics
(including Erin R. Ryan) and everything is a-glitter, but as Julia’s character
states, “One of these things is not like the other.” Creepiness ensues until
the last gotcha second. Both Gomez and Eckhardt were in Couto’s feature Amityville:
No Escape (in both cases, it’s a never the train shall meet situation
for these two actors; the review can be found on this blog), but the film plays
out well. And it’s always good to see Ryan, even if it’s for a brief cameo
role. This is a fun story with a couple of good jump scares.
Full film HERE:
Humbug
Directed by Justin Lee and Matt Thiesen
Glorious Internet /
SiniSisters Productions
6:58 minutes, 2016
This is a dark comedy that I can, on some level, relate. A horror film
loving Seasonal skeptic (Jessee Foudray) is a goth who has no problem self-cutting
for her art. Her neighbor (Milly Sanders, who also wrote the screenplay), on
the other hand is as wholesome as, well, the Christmas season… to a point. When
Ms. Goth goes over to complain about the loud and cheerful Carols coming
through the wall, things turn humorously dark in a way that made me laugh. The
part I identify with is the “humbug” mentality (I have nothing against
Christmas, but I detest the greedy Xmas Season). And yet, this non-rosy cheer
made me smile. Parts of this came as a surprise, though the very end – albeit perfect
for the story – is not hard to figure out, and yet still enjoy.
Full film HERE:
I’ll Be Alone for Christmas
Directed by Ryan Shovey
Carpenter Hill Productions
6:57 minutes, 2015
There is almost no spoken
dialogue in the film, though we get to see the messages a woman (Victoria
Reynoso) types into the social media sphere via her cell phone, and the
responses. She’s all alone on Christmas, except for said phone and a bottle of
wine (man, there is a lot of drinking in Xmas films). She’s “lonely AF” as she
tells her friend, and she even tries to make a hook up on “Tinder.” But something
mysterious is willing to share her Holiday with her, and you know it’s not
going to end well. It’s beautifully shot in widescreen, making the character’s
loneliness and feeling of isolation seem even more palpable. The last shot is a
bit of an overused trope, but the entirety of the story is dark and creepy, for
which the Xmas Spirit is intended (in my world).
Full film HERE:
Stirring
Directed by Henrique Couto
New Dynamic
3:41 minutes, 2018
This film is short and sweet. Joni Durian is a woman on her own who buys
a tree from a lot. But there is more – err – stirring than even a mouse. This
is a mostly non-verbal, one human show, but Durian carries it all the way. The
film lends itself a bit to the first Creepshow (1982) in both lighting and certain shots (I’m thinking of one of the more
infamous segments in particular). As I said, this is the second short of Couto’s
to show up here, and yes, I am a fan, but I did not seek it out, I just searched
“Christmas Horror Shorts” and two of his came up. In the words of Ed Grimley, I
feel like I’ve gone down on Christmas morning and found an entire fort, you
know.” There are no really big surprises here, but it’s fun. And Durian is
always enjoyable to watch as she has such an expressive face. Who needs dialogue?
Full film HERE:
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