short film

Wicked Wednesday: Short film round-up

Occasionally I like breaking free of the feature-length shackles to watch something that can pack a punch in just a few short minutes. I did a mini short-film marathon the other night and happened to see a link between the three: all of them manage to create a very unsettling feeling by not doing much at all.

Other Side of the Box (2018) dir. by Caleb J. Phillips

So…what’s in the basket box?

Couple Rachel and Ben are enjoying a night in before Christmas when an unwelcome visitor arrives. Their not-quite-friend Shawn is invited in, and he gives a wrapped gift to Ben. Not wanting to be rude, Ben accepts the gift but is told not to read the card until after opening the box. Shawn skedaddles quickly after he’s sure the box has been opened.

In a similar vein to It Follows, Ben and Rachel realise that they’ve been saddled with a curse. The curse? A creepy man peering at them from over the side of the box. Shawn’s card warns them not to look away from the man at any point.

The man is a very simple visual, but it really made my skin crawl. No offence to the actor playing him, of course! It’s the hidden face and unblinking eyes that really set me on edge. Something about a Peeping Tom really unsettles me.

The Backrooms (Found Footage) (2022) dir. by Kane Parsons

Kids these days… I’m glad they’ll be running things when I’m old because these little ones know what they’re doing. They’re more competent than I’ve ever been!

Director Parsons was only 16 when he made this short. This is an impressive film without that fact, but it’s definitely worth noting because this kid accomplished a lot (with presumably little other than a phone and a computer programme…yes I’m aware of how old that makes me sound).

The Backrooms is a relatively new urban legend that is about an endless maze of empty rooms and liminal spaces. A person can find themselves in the Backrooms by accident and it’s never known how to escape. It’s all seemingly random, which adds to the uncomfortable atmosphere.

In The Backrooms (Found Footage) a cameraman is making a movie when he noclips into an empty office with an abandoned 1980s style. He wanders for ages trying to find a way out when he soon realises he isn’t alone.

This would have been my literal nightmare as a kid. What Parsons managed to do is incredible. He sets feels genuinely isolated and sad. A lot like my real office, come to think of it…

Atman (1975) dir. by Toshio Matsumoto

The final film of the evening was Atman by experimental director Toshio Matsumoto. It’s not strictly a horror short, but for some reason, there’s a sense of dread that permeates throughout.

A person in a hannya (a Japanese demon representing jealousy) mask sits in a chair while the camera revolves around them. The images are presented in a frame-by-frame manner, slowing speeding up while zooming in and out.

As the shots get faster, the shrill sounds become more and more intense. There’s really nothing else “happening”, but I do know that I would never like to be in this world or come across this person anywhere, let alone the seemingly isolated countryside where it was filmed.

Wicked Wednesday: Monsters Crash the Pajama Party (1965)

I have no idea how I first learned about Monsters Crash the Pajama Party, but when I spotted it on my Letterboxd watchlist, I was intrigued. Go past me! She knows what’s up.

This is a pretty unusual film in general, but it’s one of the few short films I’ve seen from the 1960s. In fact, it might be the only one I’ve seen outside of those educational films that RiffTrax like so much.

Monsters Crash the Pajama Party is a cheesy “spook show spectacular” that manages to be both very low budget and amusing. One of my favourite combinations.

The opening credits are unique. Instead of the usual title sequence with credits, a voice-over introduces everyone as gorillas stand-in doing the work of the sound editor, camera operator and the like.

A group of kids soon arrive at a ‘haunted’ mansion where a group of sorority initiates have to stay the night. None of the girls believes in ghosts and expects the night to be fairly uneventful. Their boyfriends drop the girls off and seemingly leave them to their own devices.

Unbeknownst to them, the mansion is home to a secret laboratory. A mad scientist lives there concocting experiments and ordering around his gorilla lackeys. One of the girls is kidnapped by a gorilla and brought to the lab.

The remaining girls split up to look for their friend, believing that the boys are behind it with their pranks. One-by-one the girls are grabbed by various henchmen and brought down to the lab (so see what’s on the slaaab).

It’s up to the boys to return and save the girls. But they have to fend off a selection of monsters first!

This is schlocky goodness. The acting is hammy, but the cast is clearly enjoying themselves. The sets and costumes are wonderfully 60s. The SFX are definitely low budget, but in a way that can be found charming if you enjoy that style.

Apparently during screenings of this short, actors dressed as monsters from the movie would walk through the cinemas. I love that sort of William Castle gimmicky fun. I can’t think of any movie in recent times that has fun with its audience in that sort of way. Unless you count those 4DX cinemas, and I know I don’t. This is the sort of movie I’d love to see be remade for modern audiences – it would take true ingenuity.

This is a short and sweet movie very much like Scooby Doo meets Roger Corman. It’s plenty of fun and worth seeking out if you need an amusing way to spend 30 minutes of your time.

Wicked Wednesday: Treevenge (2008)

Christmas horror stories are a special type of twisted. It’s meant the merriest time of year, which I guess makes it all the more fun watching it become dark. Blood looks really good in the twinkling Christmas lights.

Treevenge is bonkers in all the right ways. It’s certainly a very fun and twisted short film. Essentially what is a Christmas tree version of a rape-revenge story.

It might only be sixteen minutes, but it packs a lot of punch in that time. A grove of trees live in peace in the woods until a group of men with saws and axes chop them down and terrorise them. The madmen drag the desperate trees off to a Christmas tree lot where they are sold to greedy families with ghastly grins.

When the trees are separated, decorated and humiliated, they decide to get revenge. On Christmas morning, the trees begin to attack. They really don’t hold back at all. The death scenes are essentially a love letter to Fulci’s style, particularly That Kill from Zombi 2. It’s mayhem for everyone on Christmas.

Yet for all its gore, Treevenge is absolutely gleefully silly. We have killer trees that laugh! The kills are brilliant and made me laugh in a nervous way. (It’s ok to laugh at trees killing babies?)

Director Jason Eisener also made the short “Hobo With a Shotgun”, which was featured in Grindhouse as one of the mini-trailers. The man is clearly a master at cramming a lot of action and drama into short running times.

This is one of the most demented Christmas horror movies I’ve seen in a long while. It’s certainly memorable and fun. And as someone who has never had a real Christmas tree, I’ll make sure it stays that way forever. Treevenge could be a PSA in the negative effects of the logging industry a la Rachel Leigh Cook’s heroine commercial.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Wicked Wednesday: Catcalls (2020)

Here are the facts: being a woman can be dangerous. We’re more likely to be killed by our partners – certainly a startling amount face domestic or sexual violence. If you’re a woman of colour or a trans woman, those statistics look even more dire.

But girls are made of tough stuff. Which is why I love the final girl trope so much: pure resilience and power. Seeing the power to fight back on screen.

Which is why I think so many female directors are doing so many interesting things in the horror genre of late. (But let’s face it – we always have.) In the short film by Irish director and writer Kate Dolan, we see the final girl trope in a very twisted (and brilliant) light.

Paul is a creep. He cruises around harassing women. One night, he reveals himself to a girl on the street with her friend. But he quickly realises he messed with the wrong ladies.

When he gets home, his exhausted wife tells him that she’s about to head out the door for an extra shift. Whether or not she’s oblivious to her husband’s, er, extra-curricular activities is unclear.

Before Paul’s wife can even leave the house, a girl arrives at their door screaming for help. Paul immediately recognises the frantic girl as the one he sexually harassed earlier in the night. He panics and leaves the room, but when he returns to where the women were, he’s unable to find them.

Paul soon realises that he’s in danger, and there’s a monster eating his wife. He attempts to make it to his car, but is attacked by a woman-cat-like creature in the night.

Catcalls has a premise that reminds me of films like The Craft and Ginger Snaps. They’re films full of great female characters with loads of personality. Our monster ladies in Catcalls pack a memorable punch without have hardly any lines at all. Each withering look conveys every feeling I have ever had while harassed by men.

But this short film also reminds me of the rape-revenge genre: we’re rooting for the people dishing out the violent justice.

For being less than 10 minutes, Catcalls really resonated with me. I’m dying to tell my friends about it – to find strength in it. We might not be able to turn into cat women ourselves, but it’s certainly enjoyable to pretend that we can.

Really, I’m ready for this to be a full-length feature. Give me an hour and a half of these ladies extracting revenge. We need it.

Wicked Wednesday: The Umbrella Factory (2013)

Horror stories have been around for thousands of years. The original Grimms’ Fairy Tales can be shocking and horrifying. The Bible has stories of ghosts and floating hands.

We love to be scared and always have been. Which is why The Umbrella Factory‘s simple storytelling is so effective.

One rainy night, three brothers are visited by a traveller. The cold, wet man has no money to offer the brothers in exchange for their hospitality. But he does have a talisman from India that grants wishes.

The eldest brother, the most unkind, asks for a large sum of money. The next day, the brothers go to the umbrella factory they work. Tragedy strikes when the youngest of them dies. The factory manager offers them money on behalf of the youngest brother.

That night, the second brother wishes that the youngest brother was still alive. The wish is granted, and the mutilated brother returns home. Horrified, the eldest brother wishes that none of the events had ever happened.

So again. One rainy night, three brothers are visited by a traveller.

This is a simple story, inspired by “The Monkey’s Paw” by WW Jacobs. It’s a story that many people are familiar with. And even if they’re not, it’s the ages-old moral: be careful what you wish for.

But the most effective part about The Umbrella Factory is the interesting Victorian-inspired animation. It’s use of black and white with splashes of red give this potentially child-ish story a gruesome twist. For less than four minutes, this short horror film gives you plenty of eye candy to look at.

Wicked Wednesday: Monster (2005)

The Babadook has to be one of the best horror movies released this millennium. Let’s be honest, it’s a bit of a modern classic. Director and writer Jennifer Kent handles the themes of fear, trauma and grief all with an intelligence.

So when I first read about her short film Monster, I knew it was another one to watch.

Monster explores many of the same themes that Babadook does. In fact, it’s very much in the same spirit. A mother lives with her young son in their rather unclean home.

The son spends his day fighting off a rather creepy doll. The mother seems to know this doll and doesn’t like it. After she finds the doll ‘trapped’ under some of the boy’s things, she throws the doll into a cupboard.

The boy later tells his mother that he has been trying to kill the monster for her. He also claims that the doll has been threatening to kill him…again.

The mother later returns to the cupboard and sees a face in there in place of the doll. It frightens her, and she then offers to allow the boy to sleep in her bed that night.

While cozying up together, the figure from the cupboard appears to the mother and son. But before the monster can hurt the boy, the mother does what any mother does best: scolding.

The monster is eventually shamed and sent back to her cupboard. The boy and mother are allowed to have some peace together at last. But after the boy goes to sleep, his mother gets up and pours a glass of milk, which she leaves outside the cupboard for the monster.

Like Babadook, this short film carries many of the same messages. We see a parent trying to protect their child’s innocence. In Monster, it’s almost as though the mother welcomes the monster. She wants the monster to stay in her place, but it does mean her child stays by her side as his sole protector.

This little black-and-white piece is only 9 minutes long, and definitely manages to tell its story in that short amount of time. All while creating an eerie, effective ambiance.

Kent has a great eye. It’s excellent to see her growth is a filmmaker between the two stories, which are very comparable. Certainly a must-watch for anyone that loved the terrifying Babadook. But it’s also a great mini-introduction to Kent’s style and themes for those yet to dip in their toes.

Wicked Wednesday: The Night Dracula Saved the World (1979)

I caved into Halloween mania early this year. I say ‘early’ but really, Halloween season always begins on August 1st. But around the Brits I have to pretend to be sensible when really my whole house is decked out.

It’s been a super manic week, so watching something like The Night That Dracula Saved the World was exactly what I needed.

The made-for TV short film originally aired on ABC as The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t. It’s a much-more apt name than the VHS title, but a name will sell anything these days, right?

The story is a strange mash-up of everything you’d find at a cheesy Halloween party and a lesson about the origins of the holiday. Dracula has called a conference at his castle in Transylvania with all the other monsters. Before they arrive, he and Igor watch the news together, in which a newscaster claims that Dracula wants to end Halloween.

Dracula is offended (“Halloween is my national holiday!”), but he allows the conference to go forward anyway. When all of the guests arrive, they learn that Dracula called them together to warn them that they are no longer scary to children.

The other guests seem pretty offended, but the Witch reveals she simply doesn’t give a crap. She announces to the group that she quits, and will be refusing to fly across the moon on Halloween night – the action that sets off Halloween (apparently). She tells the others that she’s tired of the ugly girl jokes, and she really just wanted to be the leader of the monsters.

Dracula refuses, and the witch flies off to her home. Dracula and the other monsters follow her the next night, and break in believing she doesn’t have any magic.

But she’s a witch, so of course the lady has magic. She sends the others running in circles before locking herself safely in her room. Dracula tries to reason with her, offering to agree to her conditions: her face will be on the monster posters, she’ll have shared leadership of the monsters, and to go disco dancing every night.

Dracula agrees, but the Witch immediately redacts her agreement to fly over the moon. But when a pair of local children arrive, they tug at her heartstrings, reminding her of the true meaning behind Halloween: candy and costumes.

The Witch agrees to the children’s pleas and flies over the moon to mark the start of Halloween. Afterwards, the monsters all have a disco. And why? Because this short is clearly insane.

The Night Dracula Saved the World is a really cute piece of nostalgia. The costumes are a bit hokey, as if they were bought from a costume shop, but it’s all really sweet, weirdly. It’s apparently a holiday staple for a lot of kids who watched it on the original ABC run and later on the Disney Channel during the 80s and early 90s. And I can see why, the random-ass disco in the end might be my favourite thing I’ve ever seen in a Halloween movie.

This is the perfect little 25-minute movie to put anyone in the Halloween spirit. Watch it, disco, and keep on thinkin’.

Wicked Wednesday: The Hypnotist (2001)

Siblings can be a real pain. My sisters and I like to bicker and judge each other, but at least they never tried to get me committed to an asylum. At least that I know of.

William, Charles and Beatrice Cooke are the children of a wealthy man. On the man’s death bed, he tells his children that they will inherit under one condition: that they live under the same roof to take care of their mother. If they move out, they will be disinherited.

Shortly after their father’s death, Charles begins plotting with a suspicious psychologist, Dr Schadenfreude. He asked for the doctor’s help to get both of his siblings declared insane so that they would be committed to an asylum, and thus would be disinherited by not living in the house.

Dr Schadenfreude goes after Beatrice first. She’s the most difficult target. Charles is convinced that his sister is a “whore” who is also a necrophiliac. It’s up to the doctor to make sure that’s true.

The doctor drugs Beatrice one night, then puts her under hypnosis. The command “open the door” makes her feel an overwhelming sense of dispare. She begins to hate herself and feel sickened. It’s only when he says the command “close the door” that she awakes from her trance to feel herself again.

The next day, Dr Schadenfreude goes after the religious William, who believes his mother is touched by God. The children often debate the state of their mother’s mind, but only William believes that she is completely well. Though one conversation with the doctor makes him uncomfortable (though I’m not really sure how).

Charles later tells his siblings that he wants them claimed mentally incompetent. Beatrice is, understandably, outraged, but William accepts his fate and leaves of his own free will.

Later that night, Beatrice sees her mother for help. The woman is in her bed, and seemingly too unwell to get up. But it’s then that Beatrice is struck that her mother is in fact not mentally insane.

The trial follows, and only Beatrice arrives with the doctor and Charles. William has wandered off alone (supposedly as a confirmation of his ‘condition’). The doctor and Charles try their best to defame the woman. They bring “facts” written only German. They bring “letters” from her gigolos and the men she went to orgies with.

Beatrice tries her best to defend herself, and ultimately announces that Charles murdered two. She tells the judge that all the court records were burned but one. One that she found in her mother’s room.

Dr Schadenfreude quickly tells Beatrice to “open the door” but as she admits she’s deranged, she collapses to the floor. When she awakes, though, she breaks free of the hypnosis. She quickly recalls what happened to her. She tells the judge, then informs her brother that the doctor also put her under hypnosis to steal their money. The doctor flees from the courtroom, rich from his con.

Now completely ruined, Charles begins his (further) descent into madness. He vows to kill Beatrice, but his mother, now out of bed, tries to stop him. Beatrice hears her mother’s cries, and finds Charles standing over their mother’s dead body.

In a rather ghostly ending, Charles runs away. He sees the apparition of his mother, and falls to his death. A rather well-deserved ending, I think.

I love nearly everything Biller touches, but it’s her writing that I love (okay, the visual style certainly doesn’t hurt). And since this wasn’t written by Biller, and you can certainly tell, it doesn’t work as much for me. The script was probably the biggest issue with this short. It’s good, but perhaps a bit confusing in places,  particularly what happens with William. Though I did love the hints of House on Haunted Hill and Douglas Sirk.

Like many of Biller’s films, the main message driven home here is that there are many men willing to weaponise a woman’s sexuality. They’ll use it against her and destroy her for it. It was nice to see that ultimately Beatrice came out on top.

But again, I’m a sucker for Biller’s style. It’s very dramatic and romantic here. And while The Hypnotist isn’t my favourite thing she’s directed, it’s certainly worth the watch.

Wicked Wednesday: 3 Versos (2016)

The internet is sometimes a wonderful, beautiful thing. It was by pure luck and chance that I stumbled upon this Spanish-language short film 3 Versos. This one, kids, is an absolute fucking gem.

Two sisters, Catalina and Gretta, seek the help of a seer, Margery, after being haunted by sounds and voices in their house. They go to the old woman’s home where she is wearing a mask. Gretta explains that Catalina was attacked by the spirit in their kitchen. Knowing that they were in danger, they sought Margery’s help.

Using a circular spirit board, the three woman, plus the rather-quiet Regina, begin to contact the angry spirit be reciting the three verses. But the seance seemingly goes wrong when Catalina breaks the circle, unleashing half a dozen spirits around them.

Suddenly, Margery is hit with by the spirit Perla, and falls to the table, her mask tumbling off. When the seer raises her head, the girls see that her face is disfigured and they flee.

Only after they leave, Margery reveals her true face – that of a con artist. She enjoys her takings and revels in her successful trick. But later, she receives another call from Gretta, thanking her for getting rid of the spirit. Margery, believing the girl is just silly and superstitious, tries to get more money out of the girl by “cleansing the house.” She demands that the three girls return. Only Gretta is confused. Regina? Who the hell is Regina?

And with that, 3 Versos offers up a deliciously twisty ending to what is certainly a very atmospheric 10 minutes. The costumes are fantastic, the acting is solid (Edvan Galván deserves all the stars for the vaudevillian Margery), and the subtle hints of trickery are also excellent. While many of the elements feel familiar (the board, the haunted sisters), this short-film does with with such style that it feels full enthralling to watch.

Director and writer Antonio Yee also performs as Vander Von Odd, winner of the reality show The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula. 3 Versos uses all the glamour, theatrics and art of drag to create a fantastically heightened mood and unique aesthetic. Luck has found me an artist I’m head-over-heels for, but I’ll be staying of my own free will.

Wicked Wednesday: The Grey Matter (2014)

It’s been a long, long time since I watched a zombie film. The zombie fad had been (still is?) violent and big. The genre certainly feels tired. But the 2014 short film The Grey Matter offers up a funny sort of parasitic worms and office romance what-ifs (like is The Office decided to go full on Shaun of the Dead).

Simon is known to be a bit of a loser at his office. But one night changes all of that. He wakes up in the street, covered in blood. And since he opted-out of medical coverage, he has no choice but to deal with the ‘gash’ in the back of his head by himself.

But the ‘gash’ (really a massive hole) proves to do wonders. He becomes more confident and all of his co-workers begin to take notice. One co-worker in particular, actually. Emily.

Despite the fact that Simon repeatedly introduced himself to Emily, she constantly forgets his existence. But the change in him catches the girl’s eye. She gives him her phone number, hoping he’ll call her.

That night, Simon begins to hear a voice talking to him. A voice in his head promising to help him with Emily. He reaches into the hole in his head and pulls out a sarcastic worm-looking parasite. Simon panics and blacks out. When he wakes up in the morning, his irritating co-worker Mitch is wandering around Simon’s apartment.

Mitch tells Simon that the two of them have had a wild night out together, a part of Simon’s new personality. Mitch also reminds him that Emily agreed to go on a date with Simon. On the news, a breaking news report claims that a man had been a victim of a “cannibalistic attack”. A sketch of the attacker looks rather like Simon, including the ridiculous hat he wears to cover his bandaged head.

Simon has a chat with the parasite before going out. The worm actually gives Simon some helpful tips for the date, and Simon eventually gets the confidence to go on the date with Emily.

When Emily and Simon return to his place that night, they begin to get cozy. Simon panics when he begins to get the urge to bite Emily. So he brings out the wine instead. But the wine causes him to relax a little too much.

Simon goes to work the following day with a pep in his step sans hat and bandage. His head seemingly healed. Emily arrives to talk to him, saying she didn’t remember anything that happened the other night. She’s wearing a bandage around her head, and explains that she must have hit her head.

As she walks away, it’s revealed that Simon is holding a chunk of bloody hair with one of Emily’s hair clips in it.

I was slightly confused by the world of the movie. It’s hard to build a story in under 20 minutes, but I still felt slightly lost. At the end of the viewing, I thought ‘Ah. It’s like It Follows where we pass the disease on like an STD!’ Only it’s not, right? Because if it was, surely it would have been passed on to Simon’s first victim (assuming he was the actual attacker on the news report).

Or maybe I really missed something.

Or maybe the worm is a skeeze-ball who just wanted to inhabit a head with great blonde hair?

The Grey Matter is certainly entertaining and is a great way to spend 20 minutes. It’s certainly not my favourite short, but it definitely didn’t feel like I was meant to be the intended audience anyway. Bonus points for the sarcastic worm.