Text © Richard
Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
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the Internet
Horror Shorts Reviews for December 2020
Bath Bomb
Directed by Matt
McWilliams
Crypt TV
3:00 minutes, 2019
A woman (Sarah Nicklin) prepares for a bath after what I am assuming is
a long day. She throws in a bath bomb, for that lovely fragrance and the bubbles
(I have used them myself, on occasion). But as the poster indicates, things go
awry thanks to an unreliable bath products company. Even though the short plays
it by the rules, at 3 minutes, the rulebook is brief and sweet, so don’t go
looking for deep philosophical eruptions. Without dialog (ever notice how many
shorts don’t have spoken words? But I digress…), we watch poor Sarah go from
calm to terrorized in the drop of a balm.
Full film HERE
Directed by John H. Shelton
Baydzone
3:54 minutes, 2020
This is as low budget as it gets, and they certainly do make the most of it. A video of the Crimson Creeper (prolific director Shelton), who is essential a man in a cool Mexican wrestling mask, is sent to a guy (Bayden Redshaw) by his friend Alan. The Creeper (CC) repeats the same things over and over, which you can see in the trailer below, in a deep, growling voice. He comments that “two men turn into one,” and “I’m watching you,” among other things. Needless to say, this freaks the guy out, who is becoming paranoid about the video affecting his real life. I won’t say much more about this but it is nicely creepy and is well underscored by Bobby Cole’s soundtrack. It looks like this may become a series, which I would like to see happen.
Full film HERE
Don’t Peek
Directed by Julian
Terry
6:46 minutes, 2020
A young woman (Katie Cetta) in her bedroom is playing a version of the
Japanese game, Animal Crossing, on her cell phone. As she plays, she notices
that there is a crossover between the game and reality. Rather than freaking it
out (as it would me), she is charmed by it. However, there is a malevolent force
behind it, which should come as no surprise to genre fans. Without any dialog,
we watch as she comes to realize that there is danger afoot. This can also be
seen as a commentary on cell phone and/or gaming addiction (ever notice how
many shorts have people playing computer games? But I digress…), because even
as things turn for the worse, she keeps at it, until… Well, the ending is no
real surprise, but there is a genuinely nice jump scare involved, and the film,
while working old tropes, manages to put a feeling of dread into the process,
so kudos for that. There is also some really nice photography considering the
levels of lighting used. Worth a – err – peek. And if you’re interested, there
are a whole bunch of reaction videos available for this film.
Full film HERE
Larry
Directed by Jacob
Chase
5:21 minutes, 2017
Poor Joe (Joe Calarco), stuck in a boring job as an
overnight Car Park attendant, with a single car in the lot. Personally, I would
have a book with me to read, but instead, Joe finds a Lost and Found box under
the counter. In it is a Kindle, which contains a children’s story of a lonesome
monster named Larry, who is looking for a friend (ever notice how many shorts have
people on computers? But I digress…). With flickering lights and shadows hovering
around in the near vacant lot, is there something there? Well, it’s a genre
film… The story has a nice build to it with a couple of good jump scares, and yes,
a somewhat cliché conclusion, though I found it enjoyable. Director Chase does
well with the confining space and looming darkness beyond.
Full film HERE
Directed by Nick Fiorella
Maple Films; Lil Red Hen Media
8:30 minutes, 2020
www.facebook.com/maplefilms/
Right from the opening, you know this is going to be a gorgeously shot short, as the skies cloud over above a Roman Catholic church. Inside, parishioners are receiving communion, but there is a devil afoot in this well-written, acted and directed comedy. Despite its short length, the theme is well developed right from the start and when you realize the link with the title, you can’t help but laugh. Possession films tend to be either dire or goofy (such as 1990’s Repossessed), but this one infuses both with a morbid theme and disgusting humor that one can help but shake their head and both admire the beauty of what you’re watching with the eww factor of what is happening. One of the better made shorts I have seen in a while.
Root of All
Evil
Directed by Alex DiVincenzo
Lockbridge Productions
7:34 minutes, 2016
As part of the 48 Hour Film Project (for which this short won), this
film incorporates the idea of the Halloween Tree (giving props to Ray Bradbury). In New England (where this is filmed), a gaggle of friends get together on
Halloween to celebrate, led by witch-dressed Jessica (Jackie B. Fabian). Among
her guests are Matt (actor/director Jordan Pacheco, who recently directed Blood
Pi, reviewed HERE),l
Harry (Jamie Dufault; congrats on your degree), and Sophia (Anacaren Delgado)
and Brooke (Allie Marshall) – both of whom were in Blood Pi. The premise
is kind of silly, with the tree taking revenge for being mistreated by most of
the guests (ever notice how many genre films have plants that move, like Evil
Dead? But I digress…). DiVincenzo (who also directed the short “Trouser
Snake” the same year, reviewed HERE), takes this quite whimsically (it is a horror comedy short, after all), but
never disappoints. The acting is a bit over the top in sit-com fashion, and it’s
pretty meat and taters filmmaking, but there are some really nice gore SFX
thrown in and an attractive cast. It was a smile-bringer because sometimes in
this complicated world, you just want to sit back and watch some plants kill
people.
Full film HERE
Smiling Woman
Directed by Alex Magaña
ACM Official
2:44 minutes, 2019
At 1 AM, a young woman (Ariel Fullinwider) is sitting at an outdoor
train station on her cell phone (ever notice how many shorts have people on
cells? But I digress…), when a woman with a big smile dressed in yellow (lovely
Merlynda Sol, who reminds me of Lesley Ann Warren) keeps popping in and out
around her, either on the other side of the station, or closer. If you have ever
seen the 2013 short, “2AM: The Smiling Man” (reviewed HERE), on
which this is very similar, you know there is an evil element to the situation.
and she is up to no good. It’s a well done, creepy short that works, even with
a similar trope as previous releases. That being said, it amazes me how many
films are duplicates of both “Smiling Woman” and “2AM Smiling Man.” One, titled
“Smiling Woman (Stay Home)” even uses the same locations and yellow-dressed antagonist,
literally spliced from one film into the other. Isn’t that plagiarism? Anyway,
stick to the originals, they’re better.
Full film HERE
Songs My
Mother Taught Me
Directed by Doug
Cook
Breakframe
Digital
13:44 minutes,
2018
This Canadian release is a lot of fun. The basic
premise is a group of friends – on Halloween of course – use a Ouija board (ever
notice how many films have people using Ouija boards to negative effects? But I
digress…), to contact a brother and sister’s (Brock Morgan and Ace Hicks) recently
dead mother. Needless to say, using a Ouija board is never a good idea,
especially in genre films, never mind on Halloween. Of course, this opens a door
to demons that decimate the party (body count). What’s different than many
other shorts is that while there is little gore (though there is one scene that
is excruciating to watch), there is a large, bloody build-up of bodies. The effects,
both SFX and digital, look really good, the acting is just fine, and the story
is actually quite compelling. Excellent work from everyone.
Full film HERE
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