Salute Your Shorts: Jack Attack 2013

It’s Halloween night in a quaint neighborhood where a young boy named Jack (Tyler Rossell) and his babysitter, Elizabeth (Helen Rogers), are headed home to do a little pumpkin carving. It’s obvious that this is Jack’s first experience partaking in this beloved Halloween tradition, and Elizabeth does a great job making it as enjoyable as she can for the young boy. After they finish with their jack-o-lantern, Elizabeth bakes some pumpkin seeds while Jack gets ready to go trick or treating, and despite the fact that Elizabeth’s boyfriend is MIA, all seems about as perfect as can be on this Halloween night. 

Throughout the first half of this 8-minute short film, there are some genuinely sweet interactions between Elizabeth and Jack, with both actors giving solid, believable performances. It’s almost heartwarming watching the two enjoy the traditions of Halloween together. There’s even a cute little dog to hammer home the warm, cozy feelings. While this charming first half very much feels in line with the lighter, more familial side of Halloween, I think we all know that Halloween isn’t always so sweet, and things suddenly take a dark turn for both Jack and Elizabeth.

Without giving away any of the horrific goods, I will say that If you have a fear of choking or are sensitive to seeing young children in peril, you might be a little turned off by some of the situations that unfold in Jack Attack. But most of you, myself included, will find these elements to be quite effective. There are moments where Jack Attack goes into some pretty gruesome and even frightening places, but It’s not done in a mean-spirited fashion. In fact, Jack Attack blends a tasty mix of horror and fun, which is really the perfect recipe for capturing the spirit of Halloween.

Written and directed by Bryan Norton and Antonio Padovan, Jack Attack features an impressively high level of production value, which is matched by great sound design and gruesomely satisfying special effects. In many ways, Jack Attack almost feels as if it could live in the same world as Trick r’ Treat and feels very much in line with the FEARnet (RIP) Trick ‘r Treat holiday shorts that were being released back in 2011. It hits that Halloween vibe so nicely, and it does so without much time invested, making it the perfect thing to throw on in between that 46th rewatch of Halloween 4 and 5.

Salute Your Shorts: I Love Sarah Jane (2008)

Like most 13-year-old boys, Jimbo (Brad Ashby) has that one girl he is crushing on hard, and despite there being this whole “zombie apocalypse” thing going on, he will do whatever it takes to win the affection of Sarah Jane (Mia Wasikowska).  

Written by David Michôd and Spencer Susser (who also directed), I Love Sarah Jane is an Australian lensed short film that focuses on a group of children living their day-to-day lives in a world that has been ravaged by zombies. While the details are minimal, the kids are left to their own device likely because their parents were killed at some point. To pass the time, some of the kids screw around with a captured zombie and do other things that kids without parents around are apt to do. But this is not the case for Jimbo, who is more concerned with spending time with Sarah.

I Love Sarah Jane looks at young love through the dingy windows of the zombie apocalypse, and does so in a way that is effective in its simplicity and genuine approach. The short features some very high production value with a backdrop that perfectly conveys a world ravaged by an apocalypse, all of which is brought to life by some great looking cinematography. Furthermore, the film has some incredible looking makeup effects on display, specifically with the short’s main zombie (non) threat. 

I Love Sarah Jane clocks in at about 14 minutes, and it’s a wise way to spend 14 minutes of your time, as this is a fantastic little zombie flick that adds a level of humanity that doesn't feel manufactured or generic. Check it out below. 

The Contraption (1977): Despite All My Rage

"Out of all the men in the world, I ended up marrying a bloody mouse."

Written, produced and directed by James Dearden, this 1977 UK made short film stars Richard O'Brien as The Man and Charlotte Cornwell providing the short's only line of dialogue. The Contraption is one of a handful of horror shorts that would appear as filler for various late night programming on the USA Network back in that wonderful era known as the 80s. I first encountered The Contraption at a pretty young age; an age when I was really falling in love with the horror genre, and seeing something such as this at that time in my youth left quite the memorable impact.

When it comes down to it, much of that impact would have to do with one thing, and that is simply how well made The Contraption is. It's effective in its simplicity and grabs your attention only to lead you down a path to a very dark place. The music as well as the sound design are nothing short of terrifying, and with the intricate sounds so amplified - so exaggerated - it is difficult not to get roped into what this man might be doing. With each intense turn of a screw, with every rip of the hand saw, with every smack of the mallet, there is a certain impact that each of these individual moments have in what they collectively lead up to.

The setting is nothing more than what appears to be a poorly lit basement, where the only light that is cast comes from a single lamp above. The darkness of this man's surroundings engulfs his project, making it seem as if he is in an alternate place where all his focus is on the task at hand. In many ways, this dark and empty setting speaks incredible relevance as to where he is emotionally, as he is a man who is working to take his own life, a man who is currently engulfed by the darkest of moments.

Watching a man carefully craft his own demise is quite impactful, seeing him actually do it just furthers that, but what really sets this short on the top shelf of quality is that one little line of dialogue. "Out of all the men in the world, I ended up marrying a bloody mouse." It's that last little touch that adds volume to what was just witnessed on screen. That line of dialogue makes you wonder why he has done this, and in a way, it adds depth to the situation and character, leaving quick theories to stew in the brain for a few moments afterwards. It's what kept a short like The Contraption embedded in a young horror fan's mind for many years to come, and even now, after so many years have passed, it still carries its weight in horror gold.

Salute Your Shorts: Saw Misgivings

A suburban housewife mistakenly gets her head stuck in a Saw-inspired death trap while trying on old clothes in the attic earlier in the afternoon. As unfortunate as that may sound, things become worse when she learns that she cannot remove the device because her baby accidentally swallowed the only key. While the trap is a tad uncomfortable and, more importantly, could possibly rip her head open at any given moment, her biggest concern is getting dinner ready for her judgmental in-laws, who are due to arrive sooner than she expected. 

Directed and produced by David Lilley and written by Mark O'Connell, Saw Misgivings is 7 minute short film that takes a very humorous look at the II headaches that would come as a result of having to wear a Jigsaw inspired death mask while performing the day-to-day tasks of the stereotypical average housewife. How would such a device hamper normal undertakings such as going shopping, drinking coffee, showering, and other various daily tasks? Worse yet, how is she even supposed to get this thing off without digging into her baby’s belly for the key? Worse worse yet, how long does she have until the thing goes off?!

As a whole, Saw Misgivings is a rock solid and humorous tribute to the Saw franchise, successfully lampooning the iconic traps as well as the kinetic style found in the series. All of the jokes perfectly hit their mark, which is certainly the biggest challenge with a short, no-budget film like this, and the performances by stars Vicky Album and Steve McNeil are spot on. Whether or not you are a fan of the Saw films, you will certainly enjoy this brilliant little short, so please take a moment and check it out below, then let me know what you think afterwards! 

PS - Be sure to keep watching after the credits!

Salute Your Shorts: The Closet (2014)

After spending yet another Halloween night all alone, a young girl (Marlena-Marie Grubl) begins having vivid nightmares. When she awakens and hears noises coming from her closet, she fears that something may be out to get her.

Written and directed by Michael Winiecki, The Closet is quite short – coming in at about 4 minutes minus credits – and simple, focused on little more than a girl hanging out in her bedroom on Halloween night. While being simplistic in terms of narrative, the film succeeds through solid execution, conveying a level of professionalism that is always welcome with these types of short movies.

A notable element of The Closet comes from the ‘80s gothic punk tone it gives off. This comes through most obviously with the music choices and both the costume and set design. With her slightly pale makeup and penchant for striped clothing, the lead character, who is credited as “Goth Girl,” has a look that would indicate she's into Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus and other bands of that nature. Plus the fact that her bedroom is adorned with punk band posters certainly cements the style of character the filmmakers were going for.

The gothic overtones – which vibe in a fashion similar to A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night – adds a lot to the success of the short on a personal level. It makes the short feel as if it defies a specific time period. And that, mixed with strong camerawork, editing and sound design, make The Closet an enjoyable, albeit brief, Halloween treat that is more than worthy of your evening.

 

Salute Your Shorts: Trick and Treat (2013)

A man spends Halloween evening waiting for trick or treaters to show up to his secluded farmhouse. Things take a strange turn, however, when all the Halloween candy begins to mysteriously disappear.

Written, directed and starring Cameron Chaney, Trick and Treat is a no-budget, Halloween-set short film that, as most shorts of its ilk, features a simple but fun premise. The short is primarily set on the front porch of the man’s home, which is clearly far from any sort of neighborhood where kids would normally be trick or treating. As the day grows into night, and with still no trick or treaters in sight, the man begins eating the candy out of boredom.

Shortly thereafter, and with a belly-full of sweets, the man runs into the house to “relieve” himself. When he returns, however, he discovers that the candy bowl is completely empty. As he begins looking around to see who may have taken the candy, he notices that there are a handful of empty candy wrappers right near the mouth of a jack-o-lantern. Is the jack-o-lantern somehow actually eating all the candy, or is the man’s mind playing tricks on him?

Trick and Treat succeeds because Chaney delivers on the basic story in a way that is, quite simply, fun. The short is genuinely earnest, and that comes with being made by a young filmmaker who clearly enjoys making movies. Granted, there's certainly nothing about Trick and Treat that stands out beyond your typical 5-10 minute Halloween-set short, but the fact that it is so earnest and, more so, fairly entertaining makes it worth 7 minutes of your time.

Salute Your Shorts: Tim Sullivan's A Christmas Treat (1985)

It's Christmas Eve, and as Jason is being tucked into bed, his parents warn him that if he doesn't get to sleep soon, Santa will not be bringing him any gifts. It isn’t long before Jason does finally fall asleep, only to excitedly wake up in the middle of the night and rush downstairs to see if Santa has brought him all he wished for. Much to his surprise, Jason finds Santa himself, as he's leaving behind a plethora of joy just waiting to be celebrated by the young boy. Excited beyond belief, Jason takes this opportunity to try and meet Santa, but what Jason neglected to consider is there's a reason why good little boys and girls are encouraged to sleep through the night, and no matter what, should never try and see Santa for themselves.

Brimming with 80s Christmas decor and set to the comforting sounds of Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song, A Christmas Treat is a holiday-themed horror short that perfectly hits the nostalgia mark by recreating the joy of Christmas from the perspective of a young child. Of course, the brilliance of the short is that it builds up all of these youthful memories and warm feelings, only to take it all and turn it into a complete nightmare. Albeit, a very fun and satisfying nightmare.

Written and directed by a 21-year-old Tim Sullivan when he was studying film at NYU, A Christmas Treat garnered Sullivan a Short Film Search Award from Fangoria Magazine, which is really impressive considering this was his first film. It’s not much a surprise that it received such positive attention, honestly, as A Christmas Treat is indeed a treat, and certainly one that is well worth 4 minutes of your time this holiday season and during holiday seasons to come.

Salute Your Shorts: Sweet Tooth

After a young trick-or-treater has a run in with a bully on Halloween night, the young boy’s father shows up, and soon it becomes apparent that the bully messed with the wrong kid.

Created by Zachary Shore as a part of his first year CalArts film character animation class, Sweet Tooth is short, simple and to the point, all the while retaining an effortless and unexpected charm. The beautifully hand-drawn animation has a muted, almost black and white look to it, and the sketchy, unfinished appearance of the animation adds a nice visual aesthetic to the short.

Sweet Tooth comes in under two minutes, yet delivers a tasty little slice of morality. Quite simply, there’s always someone out there who’s bigger and badder than you are, so be careful who you mess with because it might come back to haunt you in the form of a vengeful vampire dad.

 

Salute Your Shorts: The Initiation (2010)

While spending his Halloween trick-or-treating all by himself, the new kid in town runs into some local kids who immediately talk him into stealing a jack-o'-lantern. Despite the risk, doing so would make him an automatic member of their gang (of two), which means no one would mess with him. As simple as stealing a jack-o’-lantern may seem for the young boy, it may come at a steep price.

Coming in at just under three minutes, The Initiation is a very straightforward short film that actually suffers from being too straightforward. Where the short fails most is in how it neglects to deliver a twist of some sort, which is quite unfortunate, as a twist – no matter how big or small – is what one would expect from a short film set on Halloween. As a result, the resolution feels a little lazy and certainly too simplistic to be satisfying.

The short is clearly a no-budget affair, which is probably most obvious from some of the acting, which is well below amateurish. While I can certainly forgive poor acting in a project such as this, it wouldn’t have hurt the filmmakers to maybe shoot a few more takes for the numerous flubbed lines one specific actor delivers.

Overall The Initiation is only three minutes long, so you're really not wasting too much time if you want to give it a watch. At the same time, however, it's kind of difficult to recommend watching such a bland short film even with such a short runtime. Quite frankly, The Initiation is not in any way, shape or form a memorable experience, let alone one worth having. 

Salute Your Shorts: Flicker (2013)

It’s Halloween night, and shortly after stealing a jack-’o-lantern off a scarecrow, a young girl learns from a friend that the jack-’o-lantern is cursed. Naturally, the young girl doesn’t believe her friend, and proceeds paint and even mock the jack-’o-lantern as she waits for her friends to come over so they can see her new prized possession. When her friends don’t show up on time, however, the girl finds herself stuck in the house alone as strange things begin to happen. Was her friend right about the jack-’o-lantern being cursed, or is she just being a little paranoid on this frightful Halloween night?

Written & Directed by Robert Zellner, Flicker does a nice job of building tension through camerawork, music and pacing. There’s a sinister feel throughout the piece, but not in a fashion that’s mean spirited, though it’s certainly in a way that is very fitting to the Halloween season. In terms of tone, Flicker feels very much inline with something that you’d see in an episode of Goosebumps, though on a much shorter and cheaper scale.

The 7 minute short is bookended by some minimal stop-motion animation of the scarecrow, which is possibly the most impressive element of the short. There’s not a lot of movement involved, but these moments work as nice and simple visual treat that adds value to the overall package.  

Flicker is cheaply made and a tad silly, but it's a fun watch and it's heart is certainly in the right place, which is really all that matters in a short film of this nature.

‘Occam’s Razor’ Looks to Carve Out Some Funding

Director and USC Film Student Alex Parslow is looking to add a little spunk to his USC graduate thesis with a Kickstarter campaign. The goal is to raise enough money so Parslow’s short film, Occam’s Razor, is not only excellent, but good enough to work as a proof of concept for a feature-length horror film.

Set in 1851, Occam’s Razor is described as a classic Gothic horror with a unique twist, focusing on a post-mortem photographer who is called into a small conservative Pennsylvania town to photograph dozens of children who mysteriously died. The photographer, however, soon realizes the spirits of the deceased are trying to communicate to him, leading him to investigate and uncover the town’s dark and twisted secret.

The film, which will star Beth Grant and Carmen Argenziano, is set to be directed by USC School of Cinematic Arts MFA-candidate Alex Parslow, who co-wrote with Andre Kovalov. Parslow and Kovalov recently made a splash with their script Apex Dark, which landed them on both the "Hit List" and "Young and Hungry List," for best unproduced screenplays in the industry. Through this they have secured representation with Lee Stobby Entertainment and are already taking meetings on the development of Occam’s Razor, and are eager to develop a fully conceived version of the short.

Please take a few minutes to check out their Kickstarter video below, and if you are feeling supportive, hit the link at the bottom of this post to donate towards their cinematic cause.

Occam's Razor Facebook Page

Occam's Razor Kickstarter Page

Salute Your Shorts: Selfie (2014)

Opening with a moment of crippled intimacy between a young couple, Selfie tells the story of a young woman (Jasmine Breinburg) who finds herself on the wrong end of betrayal.

Within the first few seconds of this 7 minute short film, it is clear that the woman has just turned her boyfriend (Thomas Law) down after a sexual advance. She is visibly distressed by what occurred, indicating that he may not have taken it so well at first. Though, in the moment the viewer is brought into their world, the boyfriend is trying to patch things up by showing a level of understanding about her hesitations.

The boyfriend leaves for the afternoon, but later on in the day the two exchange text messages that bring a smile to the girl’s face, indicating that they’ve made up. Immediately after this interaction, the young woman decides to show her beau a little sexual affection by taking a topless photo of herself and sending it to him. While her intentions are innocent, her boyfriend’s are very questionable, as he betrays her trust by sharing her photo on a voyeur website.  

Written and directed by Ben A. Williams, Selfie is a companion piece to Stephen Fingleton’s short film S.L.R. (S.L.R. review). There’s a lot of connective tissue between Selfie and S.L.R., something of which gives the world contained within the two shorts a feeling that is both confined and vast. Furthermore, the way Selfie and S.L.R. intertwine with one another makes the voyeuristic elements coursing through both films all the more unnerving.

Like S.L.R., Selfie is an exceptionally made short film. There’s a slight haze and slow flowing dreamlike quality to the Selfie that exudes a tangible feeling of tranquility, something of which comes in stark contrast to the very dark undercurrents contained within the film. What’s most impressive, though, is that this is all done in only 7 minutes.

I highly recommend watching both S.L.R. and Selfie, and in that order. Both are truly impressive short movies that receive nothing but the highest marks from myself.

Salute Your Shorts: Boo (2010)

“Ghosts can do a lot of cool stuff!”

It's Halloween night, and a babysitter (Eliza Skinner) is spending her evening passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. Unfortunately, however, the candy she is stuck passing out are raisins, which doesn't go over very well with the trick-or-treaters (let alone me). In an attempt to no longer be the jerk passing out raisins to kids on Halloween, the babysitter calls the homeowner to see if she has anything else to pass out, but is soon disconnected.

Soon after, a trick-or-treater dressed up as a ghost (Andrew Katz) shows up at her door. But this isn’t your normal trick-or-treater, however, as this ghost is actually floating. Furthermore, the ghost has the ability to disappear and reappear at will, which the babysitter concludes is nothing more than a cool trick. While the babysitter is mildly entertained by this strange trick-or-treater at first, concern quickly creeps in as the ghost begins playing multiple pranks on her, mostly being relegated to flaming bags of poop.  

Written and directed by Michael J. Goldberg, Boo is a genuinely funny short horror comedy that nicely mixes toilet humor and cuteness. Coming in at a hair under 12 minutes, Boo is a nicely put together short and features some great special effects. The biggest standout, however, comes in the form of a good comedic performance by both the short’s leads, Eliza Skinner and Andrew Katz. Despite being a human and ghost interaction, the two actors are somehow able to convey some good chemistry, which makes their on-screen back-and-forth quite entertaining.  

Give her a watch below, and remember, raisins suck.

Salute Your Shorts: The Backwater Gospel (2011)

Set in the Dust Bowl during the 1930s, a small, isolated community is plagued by the lingering threat of a mysterious undertaker, who always seems to show up just before someone is about to die. The townsfolk are absolutely frightened, which is only heightened by a guitar-strumming tramp (Zebulon Whatley) who sings a song warning the townsfolk that the undertaker is on his way. Led by a propaganda-spewing preacher (Lucien Dodge), the townsfolk, who have the intelligence of an ingrown toenail, come to believe that the tramp is to blame for their impending doom.

Directed by Bo Mathorne, The Backwater Gospel is a Danish animated short with a simplistic but relevant message. The entire basis for the short is how easy it is to sway the masses, especially when they are afraid for their lives. The fear of death causes the townsfolk to act completely irrational, which leads them to take some very unchristian-like actions. And all along the way, the preacher does nothing but feed into the fears of the townsfolk, because in the end it is he who is the most afraid.  

While the narrative of the short is fairly basic, the strength of The Backwater Gospels is the way in which it’s presented to the viewer. With a style that is best described as gritty, the film is gorgeously animated and exudes a legitimate sense of dread and despair, something of which greatly heightens the dark subject matter. The animation stands out most during the short’s final moments, in which the proverbial shit hits the fan. This is where The Backwater Gospel becomes quite violent, but the way the violence is visually portrayed is through black silhouettes, something of which adds a fantastic level of style to the piece.  

Take a moment to check out The Backwater Gospel for yourself, and afterwards, please feel free to let me know what you think!

Salute Your Shorts: Tricker's Treat (2013)

It's Halloween night, and a man credited as The Fatman (Paul Hernandez) wants absolutely nothing to do with any sort of trick-or-treating. In fact, he even goes as far as putting up a sign in his front yard saying “NO TRICK ‘R TREATERS.” Instead of being bothered by greedy little children, The Fatman would much rather spend his Halloween watching horror movies and eating a massive bowl of buffalo wings covered in blue cheese. And honestly, I don't blame him, because buffalo wings are wicked good. Like, they’re one of my favorite foods good.

In any event, a handful of trick-or-treaters come knocking and interrupt The Fatman’s evening of horror movies and eating buffalo wings. As expected, he doesn't take it too well and responds accordingly by telling the children to kick rocks. This isn’t the last time The Fatman will have to deal with visitors, however, as soon his evening of horror films and delicious buffalo wings becomes a night of regret for having shunned so many young trick-or-treaters.

Written and directed by Don Greene, Tricker’s Treat is a 5 minute short that clearly cost very little to make. That’s not to say the short suffers as a result. In fact, it’s just the opposite, as Tricker’s Treat is a solidly made little slice of Halloween horror that features impressive lighting and editing as well as a humorous performance by Paul Hernandez.  

Give it a watch for yourself below, and please feel free to invite me over next time you order wings.

 

Salute Your Shorts: Mickey (2009)

Mickey opens with a black and white shot boxing match between the film’s titular character, Mickey (Hugh Elliot), and a much larger opponent. Everything seems to be pointing to this being an epic moment for the drastically undersized Mickey; however, within seconds of the bell ringing he is TKO’d. This happens again and again, as Mickey faces off against a handful of opponents, with the result being the same each and every single time.

This opening scene immediately sets the tone for both the film and the character of Mickey, as it is very apparent that, despite having all the odds stacked against him, Mickey never seems as if he’s afraid to step up to a challenge. It's an excellent way to introduce the character, because within a minute’s time the viewer really gets a sense of who the character of Mickey is and what he has likely dealt with his entire life.

Shortly after a run in with a dangerous gangster (Joseph West), Mickey is led to a tattoo shop where he discovers a peep show featuring a woman (Jessica Osbourne) imprisoned by chains. Despite the many dangers that he could be facing, Mickey decides it's his duty to rescue this woman. Will this attempt at heroism lead to the good-hearted Mickey getting one over the bad guys, or will this be yet another failure in the making for a character who has never had anything go right for him?

Written and Directed by Dusty McGowan, Mickey is a 20 minute short film that doesn’t rely on much dialogue to tell its tale of a character who refuses to let his small stature be a roadblock for his principles. To go with the lack of dialogue is a true sense of surrealism. Mickey is, at times, a strange film and somewhat reflective of the works of David Lynch, and this both works for and against the final product. The oddness of the film makes it tonally confusing at first, but once it’s clear that McGowan is going for surrealism, everything begins to gel a little better.

Overall, Mickey is an enjoyable little oddity about a little man with a big heart, so take 20 minutes to give it a watch for yourself below!

Salute Your Shorts: Liberator (2012)

Once the country’s most beloved superhero, Al Migliocetti aka “Liberator” (Lou Ferrigno) has really hit rock bottom. After being set up by the government for a crime he did not commit -- which resulted in a lengthy prison sentence -- Al is ready to set the record straight and finally get his life back together. As wonderful as this all sounds, Al has one major roadblock in his road to redemption, and that is the very people who set him up to take the fall. This gives Al only one option, and that’s to dust off his old costume and make a return as Liberator!

Directed by Aaron Pope, Liberator is less of a short film and, in true comic book nature, more of a first installment. The film is bookended by comic book panel sequences that help to give some exposition as well as fill in certain aspects that are well out of budgetary reach for such a modest project. Despite being a low-budget affair, however, Liberator is quite ambitious, featuring some moderately admirable special effects.  

There are moments where the filmmaking is a tad amateurish, specifically with some staging. On the other hand, however, there are also a handful of wonderfully crafted action sequences featuring impressive continuous shots and solid editing, which help to create a smooth and comprehensive flow of action that is quite exciting to watch. Some of the performances are awkward at times, and this includes Lou Ferrigno himself. Though, in the case of Ferrigno, his less than perfect performance is balanced out by a genuine level of sympathy and sincerity that the ever massive man brings to the table.

Liberator ends on a To Be Continued… note, which comes just as Al is going back to his Liberator roots to face off against his enemies, leaving the viewer with an exciting cliffhanger and a reason to look forward to a future installment. Regardless of whether or not that ever comes, Liberator works as a fairly entertaining comic book inspired short that is worth twenty minutes of your time, so long as you are a fan of such subject matter. If not, maybe the Don “The Dragon” Wilson cameo will be enough to sell you on the project.

If you’d like to check it out, you can rent or purchase Liberator on Amazon for $2.99.

Salute Your Shorts: Lights Out (2013)

Just before turning in for the night, a woman (Lotta Losten ) becomes immensely frightened by what is hidden within the darkness of her own home.

Written and directed by Swedish filmmaker David F. Sandberg, Lights Outs is an ideal example of effective horror through simplicity. With a runtime of only 3 minutes, Sandberg uses light and darkness to build tension and create genuine scares. The solitary nature of the short encapsulates a feeling of unease similar to that creepy, paranoid feeling one can get from being alone in an empty house, where the only sense of safety comes from hiding beneath the covers.

Check out the short for yourself below. Just make sure you do so with the lights on!

Salute Your Shorts: S.L.R. (2013)

S.L.R. opens with a shot of a gorgeous woman in a dress walking down the street. Within seconds of her introduction, the camera pulls back to reveal a man (Liam Cunningham) with a camera of his own snapping photos of the woman from an open window. The woman was clearly unaware that she was being photographed, but for the viewer, the fragment of beauty that comes from her presence is, within seconds, tarnished by the perversion of one voyeuristic man.

This brief moment speaks volumes about S.L.R.’s message. When the woman is introduced, many viewers would immediately find her attractive. As she briskly walks down the sunlit street; her beauty almost commands attention. However, that admiration takes an uncomfortable turn when it is revealed that we as an audience are watching her from the perspective of a pervert.

Things grow even more uneasy in the following moments, however, as a montage of imagery show the man uploading photos to a voyeur website that is filled with upskirt shots and video taken of women in changing rooms. It's very apparent that we're dealing with a deviant who takes no issue with exploiting women by uploading their photos and videos to the internet for the pleasure of other’s as well as his own.

While his introduction gives the viewer a glimpse of a man who is quite appalling, what is seen when the audience is actually faced with the man in his regular day-to-day life is completely different. From his appearance, he doesn't quite fit the mold of your typical scummy old man. Instead, he's a wealthy well-to-do gentleman with a nice home and car – not someone you would call the cops on for hanging around in a park, which greatly speaks to perception.

The man even seems to have a great relationship with his daughter (Amy Wren). Interestingly, though, the moment she is revealed, his previous actions become all the more creepy and disturbing. How could a guy with a daughter take photos of unsuspecting women, post them to the internet for others to leer at, and be okay with it? This would be where things take a fitting turn for the man, as seconds before masturbating to some voyeuristic photos of a gorgeous girl, he realizes that the photos are of his own daughter.

Written and directed by Stephen Fingleton, S.L.R. is a short form thriller that looks at just how easy it is for some people to treat others like they are objects because they have no connection to them. However, when it’s say, your daughter, or mother, or sister, or friend, or whatever, things become entirely different. The thought of some random pervert exploiting someone you care about is as alienating as it is infuriating.

Within its 20 minute runtime, S.L.R. features great performances from the scant cast, and the relationship between the father and daughter is believable. The short is also nicely put together, featuring great cinematography and editing that results in a clean, crisp and professional looking movie. There’s truly an incredible amount of talent on display here, and I can do nothing more than highly recommend giving your time to this fantastic, creepy little thriller.

Be sure to follow up S.L.R. with its companion piece, Selfie (2014), which I reviewed IN THE FUTURE!! It, too, is a great short, and the two films really compliment one another.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. On Crack.

I suppose the title of this article speaks for itself, but if you require further elaboration, then I shall certainly oblige you. Courtesy of Czech filmmaker Petr Cerny, the following video is a 60 second musical parody of the Tobe Hooper classic, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Outside of that, the only thing I have to say is that it’s absolutely mind-boggling in a fashion that is difficult to comprehend.

Czerny also directed a 60 second parody of Scream, which you can watch right HERE, but the strangeness of  The Texas Chain Saw Massacre parody should keep your brain spinning for the time being.