Horror Shorts Reviews for December 2022
Text © Richard
Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the
Internet
These films
are not in a numbered and ranked order, but rather alphabetically listed by
first letter.
The Changing
Room
Directed by Sam
Evenson
Grimoire Horror
4:25 minutes, 2022
The lesson of the film is: obey signs in stores. A woman (Jamie Taylor
Ballesta) finds a dress she likes in a shop and goes to the changing room to
try it on. The out-of-the-way changing room has mirrors on facing walls, so you
can see infinite versions of yourself. But, someone or something (Alan Maxson),
who moves like the ghosts in Japanese horror films, appears in an unlikely
place, and that’s where the terror begins. I had a smile at the end of this. Ballesta
does a great job of showing fear. Also, the SFX was impressive. If you are
interested, there is a really cool “Making of” video (which is around 6 min.)
linked at the end of the film that I really enjoyed, as well.
Full film HERE
Deep Shock
Directed by Davide
Melini
LV Hair LTD.
29:19 minutes, 2019
www.facebook.com/DeepShockDavideMelini
It should come as no surprise that this film just screams Italiano
giallo. The director worked as AD on a few of Dario Argento’s releases. In
typical giallo form, some of the actors are British, and some are dubbed
over from Italian. It is full of the kind of imagery you would expect, apart
from sharp, primary colors; here the are muted like the mental fog of the main
character, troubled Sarah (Muireann Bird). She is in an unstable state over the
death of her grandfather and sister, and is being taken care of by her other
sister, Caroline (Lorna Larkin), a family friend, Marius (Francesc Pagé), and
the brogue-speaking priest (George Bracebridge) at her family’s huge estate on
the sea (filmed at Alhaurin el Grande, Malaga, Andalucía, Spain). In her dreams
she is seeing the dead, but perhaps it is something more sinister? As with some
of the Argento/Bava type giallo, there is extreme violence and some nice-looking
gooey gore, as well as the mandatory nude bathing scene. There are lots of surprises
in a direction I did not see (though should have considering the influences),
and the imagery is quite breathtaking.
Full film HERE
Free Trailer HERE
He Knows When
You Are Sleeping
Directed by Henrique
Couto
Weekly Spooky
5:52 minutes, 2021
A festive genre film, as we see a woman (Iabou Windimere) snug as a bug
in a rug. Well, on the couch, anyway. It’s Christmas Eve and something is stirring.
She is in for more than one shock that night, and we get to see it play out…well,
most of it. Other than some laughing and screaming, the film is silent (ever
notice how many shorts have no dialogue?), but effectively creepy. The switch
to porn-type music in one scene had me laughing. Short and to the point, the
viewer is bound to get their jolly’s worth.
Full film HERE
The Manor
Directed by Blake
Ridder
Ridder Films
13:44 minutes, 2021
https://igg.me/at/manor
An American film crew goes over to England to find a shooting location,
arriving at a stately, castle-like Victorian Manor that is, frankly, stunning.
It is empty as the four go walking around, getting separated along the way.
Before long, it is obvious that there is something in the house that can copy them,
and also be deadly. There are several good jump scares in here, and frankly, I
was a bit jealous, because as they are walking around taking pictures and
videos of the place, I wanted to be there doing the same (I love taking pix of
decrepit places). With a haunting score, the foursome gets lost as time becomes immaterial, and
the rooms just seem to go on forever, reminiscent of Grave Encounters (2011).
Both creepy and spooky.
Full film HERE
River City (E1, S1: Welcome Back)
Created by Jal Michael
Blind Cat Creations;
MB
16:26 minutes, 2021
www.rivercityshow.com
In this animated horror comedy series geared to adults, Edwin (Cricket Cornelius)
has the misfortune of his truck breaking down just outside of said City.
Strangely, everybody there seems to know him (see the episode title), though he
supposedly has never been there before (I have my theories about that). He is
squared away at an apartment and befriends his blind and crusty neighbor. The
duo head out to the bar and meet some of the sketchy (pun intended) patrons.
There are zombies, werewolves, and other horror creatures large and small that
populate the area. It was quite amusing, and vulgar, I am happy to say, with a lot
a-cussin’. The second episode is due out around Xmas-time. Not to be confused
with the Scottish BBC soap opera with the same name.
Full film HERE
Sighs from the
Depths
Directed by Richard
Griffin
A Reasonable Moving
Picture Production
12:57 minutes, 2022
Imagine if a psychic had the power to tell you about how long you have
to live, and what terminal disease will cause it? What would you do? This short
examines this idea with three strangers close to their time. She has a
solution, or does she not? And does this power come from somewhere light, or is
there a darkness involved? All of these are explored in Griffin’s new
compelling short. Mrs. Lathem (Susan Staniunas), with her assistant (Bruce
Church), lead the trio on a “journey” that is full of fear of mortality and a
hope for, perhaps, a cure. Beautifully shot, the length of the film flies by
incredibly fast. It is nice to see Griffin work his “short” magic on this
dramatic telling of facing mortality, and its common, desperate threads.
Trailer HERE
Take a Look
Directed by Liam Banks
Superfreak Media
12:59 minutes, 2021
Having recently moved into a new house, Katie (Tonia Toseland) finds a
strange box in the attic that contains, among other things, an incredibly
creepy baby doll that, when the string is pulled, says, “I see you.” From there
on in she is haunted and taunted by a spirit (Charlie Brentnall) similar in
idea to Ju-On/The Grudge (2002). No matter how she tries to get
rid of the box, of course it returns. The film takes some older tropes and
makes them work for this story to be effectively creepy. The spirit’s make-up by
Alex Bourne is a bit “cakey,” but works. Katie definitely does things I would
not, but even she says to herself, “Why am I doing this?” Toseland does well in
the role, making her a sympathetic everywoman. Fun stuff.
Full film HERE
The Telling
Directed by Julia
Alexander
5:37 minutes, 2016
A young couple, Andy (Shawn McLaughlin) and Alice (Molly Church), meet
up with a psychic, Cassandra (Renee Erickson), in a park. Andy knows Cassandra,
and brings Alice there for a reading about her future, and other matters. It is
an interesting story for its time allotment, and has a really wicked – well,
actually a couple of them – turns at the end. Very subtle and surprising at the
same time. It was fun, and not just because I used to go see Church in a lot of
off-off-off-Broadway plays in the mid-2000s.
Full film HERE
The Tunnel
Directed by Andrew
Clabaugh and Alex Spear
5:56 minutes, 2022
Jacob (Jordan Frechtman) is a joggin’ man, running for the exercise of
it. He comes to an underpass tunnel that is well lit, and looks like any other
underpass tunnel, but once he enters it, it changes his life, because no matter
how hard he tries, he can never reach the end or the beginning. The film
follows the psychological effect it has on him, as we watch him struggle with
his sanity. Simple and to the point, with minimal subtext and a short amount of
time, we feel his terror. While the story is a not complex, its direction and
acting make it an effective thriller. Run to see it.
Full film HERE
