Horror Shorts Reviews for December 2021

Horror Shorts Reviews for December 2021

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

Filmmakers, please note: usually, I do not review films (unless requested) that appear on sites like Alter and Screamfest, because they have a known platform, which is great, while I would rather focus on films with no sponsored online affiliations.

The Bellringer
Directed by Cindy Stenberg
Swedish Ghost Lovers; Uncanny Pictures
7:47 minutes, 2021
One of a film challenge taken up by Stenberg to direct three shorts in two days. Ends up it has won multiple awards. It’s easy to understand why. To get over a writer’s block to finish a novel about a haunting, Jessica (Jessie Lewis Skoglund) rents a bungalow that is in the center of many others that are similar (I so want to visit the real place, with camera in hand, because it is incredibly atmospheric). The inside of the cabin looks up to date, but the outside is full of faded wood, fog, and darkness. After a bit of a slow start that is help by some incredibly detailed camerawork and editing, Jessica starts seeing a woman in a cloak (Annika Forslund Rimbléus) ringing a bell as she walks among the buildings. There is no question the ringer is up to no good. It's the cat and mouse action that will definitely keep the tension strong. Also, the make-up on the bellringer is stunning, among other well done SFX by Sana Öhlund. The darkness and the fog keep the mood tense and nerve-wracking. Beautifully done.
Full film HERE 

Blunda
Directed by Fredrik Hellqvist
Hellfilm; DBoy Productions
9:02 minutes, 2021
What produces recurring nightmares that cause night terrors? That is the question Vanja (Inés Cherif) brings to Professor von Ranck (Henry Lodin) at a clinic in this spooky short from Sweden (with English subtitles; the title means to shut one’s eyes). With slow, wispy dissonant music behind the images, Vanja is hypnotized as we follow her on her dream path into the presence of something that seems evil, Marasiten (Olle Åkesson). The film is just the right length to keep the audience compelled without overreaching, which is just what the (sleep) doctor ordered. Bathed in blue light, you can feel for Vanja and her dilemma, and the almost condescending confidence of the professor in the reasoning. A really enjoyable watch that will creep you out.
Trailer HERE 

 

Crayons
Directed by Cindy Stenberg
Swedish Ghost Lovers
5:02 minutes, 2021
Another part of the three shorts in two days project, this incredibly fun film shows a woman (Jessie Lewis Skoglund) on a walk. Partway through a railroad underpass, she finds some crayon scrawled and a box of large pieces of chalk. She draws something, which comes into existence. From there it escalates to bigger and better, until greed gets the upper hand for which there is a price. This is a fun story from beginning to end, even though it was quickly shot, and it shows some really fine filmmaking skills. My only question, and I say this with a smile, who handles chalk that size while wearing black cloth gloves? Anyway, so worth the view.
Full film HERE 

 

Face Mask
Directed by Dan Allen and Adam Huber
Midnight Video
6:05 minutes, 2020
This is a film for our times, that’s for certain. It’s night and a guy goes to his garage to do his laundry. He’s approached by a spooky guy in sunglasses (again, it’s dark out) and a surgical mask, who suggests the launderer do the same about wearing a mask. His tone is dissonant and threateningly almost monotonal as he asks to use a phone. The tension between the two is palpable as they stand near the garage and chat. But the end has a really nice O. Henry-esque twist that is unexpected and though a bit illogical, quite fun. The madness of suburbia.
Full film HERE 

The Ho Ho Howling
Directed by Andrew Neill
Two Jackets Productions
10:27 minutes, 2019
Christmas Eve. A young couple has just put their tween daughter, Charlie, to bed to wait for the morning presents. But there’s a noise on the roof and the parents investigate to find the most angelic looking Santa I have ever seen. The story nicely takes its time, not rushing towards its direction which is generally obvious from the title, but still manages to throw in a few surprises to keep both the audience off kilter and give a bit of a WTF quotient to make it humorously ludicrous. Not in a way that’s annoying, but rather with a nice touch of originality. There could have been a bit cut out of a pre-transformation scene whose color palate is right out of Creepshow (1982), but all-in-all, this film’s imaginative twists make it worth the watch.
Full film HERE 

 

Jolly
Directed by Todd Spence
Midnight Video
4:06 minutes, 2020
In a Talking Tina-esque Christmas Eve, with but one minute to the holiday, a man is napping on the couch when his animatronic Santa head seemingly comes to sentient life, and gives a dire warning. This leads to some well-presented tense moments as we, as well as both the man and Santa, count down the final seconds of the Eve. The reward is worth the wait, and in the short time as we follow this situation, the director does well to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat, and for that we are well rewarded. I felt jolly after the viewing.
Full film HERE 

 

Santa
Directed by Alexander Henderson
The Installments
6:58 minutes, 2019
A young teen (or near teen) asks his mom, “How does Santa know when you are sleeping?” That is the general theme of the creepy titular character in this episodic story, as the young man veers between waking and sleeping, or to be more precise, having nightmares about the jolly old man. While a bit over the top at times, the story does its best at delivering some nice tense moments and the viewer stays as baffled as the kid. A real sley ride (a cliché pun, but why not if it fits, right?).
Full film HERE 

 

Synonymous With
Directed by Thom Hilton
Cataract Pictures
12:16 minutes, 2021
Taking place in 2009, the once host of local horror program “Synister Synema,” who used the professional name of Synonymous (Remy Gerinario), aka Syn, is asked to be interviewed by a college student, Jackson (director Thom Hilton, who is unseen). The questions start off semi-innocent, but quickly delve into the strongly personal side of Syn’s life, probing deeper into his psyche. This is mixed with clips from the television show where lots of Grade B and C films are mentioned, and anyone who is a horror fan should definitely feel an affinity with them (unless you’re one of those sad, “I don’t watch black and white films” kinda person). There is also a nicely edited montage of Syn’s life mixed in that works under the dialogue. This felt really personal, sometimes a bit uncomfortable in a good way, and my only complaint is that I wanted it to continue, even though Syn is the only person on camera other than Thing (Mark McGann), a hand character on the now-terminated television program. This is a good watch on many levels with a strong LGBTQ undertone. Hard to believe this is Hilton’s directorial debut as it is quite well written and constructed, including his editing.
Full film HERE 

Review: Funhouse

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

Funhouse
Directed by Jason William Lee
Ti Bonny Productions; Sandcastle Pictures; Invention Films;
Magnet Releasing/Magnolia Pictures
106 minutes, 2019 / 2021
http://www.magnetreleasing.com/funhouse/

Here is a bit of irony for ya: as much as I despise reality programming, especially shows like “Survivor” and “Fear Factor,” I so do tend to enjoy when films use it as fodder for a storyline. Media fascinates me, in a Marshal McLuhan/Neil Postman/Jacques Ellul sort of way. Mixing reality television with social media? Even more better.

Social critic Neil Postman famously posited that media such as television (and hence computers) is served best when it is mere entertainment and minimal on education. Entertainment as distraction is nothing new, as even the Roman Empire knew about “bread and circuses.” This Swedish/British Columbia, Canada-filmed release definitely leans in that direction. While the overarching premise is not novel in the horror genre, people fighting for their lives for the entertainment of others – recently in films about, say, Escape Rooms – the addition of Reality Programing gives it a nice twist.

Valter Skarsgård

A rich and sadistic man (think Jeffrey Epstein-type [alleged]) that tends to tilt his head to the side, Nero (Jerome Velinsky), who as no moral compass and is willing to pay people large sums to do dastardly things, puts together an online reality show titled “Furcus’ House of Fun” (aka “Funhouse”). He gathers a group of eight attractive mix-gendered (but no LGBQ) C-Level has-beens from around the world for what they think is a “Big Brother” or “Survivor” kind of show for a prize of USD$5 million, but it ends up the latter program is more literal than figurative.

The central character is Kasper (Valter Skarsgård), a Swedish man whose claim to fame is that he was married to a pop star who, like the others – a nice touch is that most of the actors are actually from the countries they represent – arrives in a house in an undisclosed location with no memory of how they got there (after they had signed the contract). They all have different colored shirts to make it easy to identify by the world-wide web audience. The rest include the likes of an Influencer, Mixed Martial Arts fighter, a model, and a one-hit wonder singer, for example.

At first, it is all fun and games as the contestants (someone uses the word “dysfunctional”) get to know each other, make out, sing karaoke, go into the hot tub, drink a lot of alcohol, and be served by people dressed in odd Panda masks (the animal is the logo of the program). There is even the old “confession booth” they all must enter and try to win the favor of the audience, who votes out whomever they choose every three days, though it gets progressively quicker. And this is where events get dicey. Of course, they are being filmed 24/7.

The first act of about 20 minutes, helps the film’s viewers to both get to understand the premise framework of the show, and also sets up some background to the characters. When you have eight of them, it is easy to just see them as fodder for the violence to come, but this way we can get to know and either like or dislike them. There are some friendships made and some rivalries (a memorable quote: “People like me…bitch.”). This will make it more emotional as shit hits the fan into the second act when the blood begins to flow in challenges that take on an elaborate, almost Saw franchise fashion. It also kind of reminds me of Cube (1997).

Again, as a student of media, I find it equally fascinating when the story focuses on the audience, the “Perez Hilton” kind of snarky webcasts making puns about deaths (e.g., “How can you take selfies without arms?”), and the CNN type of newscasts and interviews. As each kill naturally gets more gruesome, in some ways, like Dog Bites Man! (1992), it puts the film viewer as a participant in the action similar to the web show’s audience. Are we sitting there enjoying the painful killing of this octet, one by one? Most likely, yes. You know there are going to be those who sit in front of their large HD screens and pump fists screaming “yes!” while the other hand holds the beer (or popcorn).

Yes, I realize that this is not reality, but does it inoculate us to real violence? That is a question that has seriously been asked in modern cinema since at least the 1980s (remember the “Video Nasties” situation in England, and the PMRC in the States?). I have no opinion one way or another, as I enjoy these kinds of films, but I also like to look at the sociological aspects, as well.

The Head Panda gives a twisted but accurate description of what society considers entertainment, amusingly using the Kardashians as an example of decline. But, as I said above, it predates that. Just look how many copies of the Faces of Death VHS sold (or was rented), and is even discussed now on many genre chat boards. On those very chat boards, people often request suggestions for the bloodiest, goriest, and most disturbing releases. Yes, I agree that there is a difference between reality and cinema magic, but shows like those I mentioned above, like “Fear Factor,” “Survivor,” and even those like “The Bachelor,” “Hell’s Kitchen,” “The Housewives of (Wherever),” and that nasty recent Ellen DeGeneres’ “Ellen’s Games of Games, has helped make violence and social interactions into entertainment. While meta-commentary in the film is explicit, it is also not preachy and stays off the soapbox, unlike my annotation.

And speaking of cinematic magic, the SFX is damn fine here if that is your thing, as it is mine. Lots of violence, torture (not in a focused, body horror kind of way), and missing or separated body parts. The acting in the film, for the most part, is quite good, with the standouts being Cat (Amanda House, aka musician Mandy Mouse) and especially scene stealer Nevin (Dayleigh Nelson, playing a Brit, but is from British Columbia).

My complaints are minimal and twofold: first, it was a tad long though the pacing of the kills is nicely distributed once they start; second, I found the sex scene later on a bit unbelievable considering both the circumstances and the conversation that preceded it. But both of these were not enough to take away from the story, which had more than a couple of interesting twists and turns to keep up the attention and enjoyment level. As for the social observations, well in this case, it actually adds to the story rather than bogging it down. This is a competent and fun thrill ride by sophomore feature filmmaker Lee.

 

Review: Mara

Text by Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2014
Images from the Internet

 

Mara

Directed by Jacob Kondrup, Fredrik Hedberg, and Åke Gustafsson
Filmkon©ept Scandinavia
MVD Visual
77 minutes, 2013
www.filmkoncept.com
www.mvdvisual.com

The Swedes make some interesting and surprising creepy films. For example the title of Mara can be translated as either a succubus, a spirit who brings mishaps, or as a name it means “bitter” (as does Miriam, Mary or Marie).

Mara has a basic plot theme which can be found in films from the late ‘70s on: told in flashback, a group of friends (here its three women, two dudes) go to a desolate country farm house in which a murder took place years before that was witnessed by the protagonist, Jenny (Angelica Jansson); her mother stabbed her father multiple times in a jealous rage. Of course, mom has been released from the asylum, and people are dying. You’re probably saying, “Been there, seen that.”

Ah, but we’re talking about Scandinavian cinema, where there is a lot of smoke and mirrors, along with a sense of cinemafantastique. For a while I figured out the story, but then realized, no, I didn’t. That was a pleasant surprise. I did not see the second reveal at all. Yes, there are multiple reveals, resulting in a very interesting picture.

I know I have recently complained about how walking around a house in the dark with tense music for some length of time can turn anxiety into impatience, but the directors do a splendid job at keeping your attention throughout multiple, “what was that noise/shadow/figure?” sequences.

Most of the cast is fodder for nudity and body count, of course, as some things shall not go rewritten, but it doesn’t matter because there are only two key figures to the story: the first is the creepy mom (Mia Möller) who shows up in sequences that are reminiscent of Boris Karloff in Mario Bava’s 1963 I tre volti della paura (aka Black Sabbath). The other, of course, is the lead of Jenny. It’s hard to believe this is Jansson’s first role because she grabs it and plays full tilt. I’m sure it helps that the film is in her native Swedish (with English subtitles), but she gives a stellar performance, full of nuance and body language, from surprised to bored to, well, terror. Plus she is an incredibly attractive woman who has… huge tracks of land, and the director puts her in clothes that play that off well without making it only a cleavage-fest. That’s left for the other actors (though Jansson does get a chance to appear with ample bosom showing as well, early on during a dinner scene).

The look of the film, with its bluish colors and artistic flair – especially the dream and remembrance sequences – reminds me a bit of the Giallo cinema of the 1970 and ‘80s, such as the aforementioned Bava and Dario Argento, without all the strange angles and extreme zooming close-ups. After all, this is mean-what-you-say-say-what-you-mean Lutheran Sweden, not the pomp and circumstance Roman Catholic Italy. Even spectacle is more subtle up there. But gore? That’s another story. There is a long history of shock cinema coming from Sweden since the 1960s, enough to literally fill a book [HERE].

While an enjoyable film from beginning to end, it is not perfect. For example, one of the questions I have, and this isn’t just this one but in general: When something is a flashback, why do they include scenes with dialog where the person telling the story is not present? How would she know what was discussed, especially if they were talking about her and it’s a family secret? Okay, perhaps that is nitpicking, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong, does it?

There have been a lot of films of late from the European Theatre that have just dove head first into the muck and mire of gore, shock and, well, more gore. Here, however, they have taken a step back and kept the blood (most of it “after” the act), but put the suspense and terror to the front. Doing this, they have denied none of the artistic license of shadows moving, smart editing, spooky lighting and solid acting.

But this is Jansson’s picture, and a good one to start her portfolio (and as of this writing it remains her only credit in IMDB). She doesn’t let her beauty stand in the way of giving a strong performance where she must grimace, look confused, and terrified; then there’s the obligatory shower scene, of course. I’m hoping she’s given more chances than modeling in fashion and men’s mags.

There are some nice extras included. The first is a 75 minute day-by-day shooting diary for the seven-day gig. One nice thing is they show you how they set up the shot, and then they actually show you the scene, so you can see what they are talking about (don’t forget to turn on the English captions for the extras). What’s also enjoyable is you get to see some more, well, body parts. Third, one occurance that is on this extra that isn’t in the film as much is Angelica’s bright smile.

The second is a four-minute piece of Hedberg meeting Angelica for the first time to see if she is right for the part. This is followed by a brief phone conversation (while driving!) with one of the other directors on how it felt like a positive experience. Obviously, it all worked out.

Of course there’s the trailer for the film, and a three-minute in-house video interview with Jansson dressed in total model mode at the test screening, discussing her experience. She is definitely bright (a degree in Environmental Science!), and she says though she won’t chase roles, she would be happy to do another. Good. She also posits that the film turned out better than she expected. Amen, sister.