Want a fun-size treat to satiate your hunger for Halloween? Look no further than the horror short film The Carving, set on Halloween night (thank you to The Horrors of Halloween for sharing this awesome short)! It captures the Halloween spirit and delivers some chills in just a little over two minutes, and it is the perfect spooky jolt if you are missing the Halloween season.
The Carving is written and directed by Jarret Blinkhorn, who also composed the rad 80s-inspired synth score for the short. I love how the short is structured in kind of flashback fashion as we follow in the footsteps of the killer through a house decked out for Halloween night. It was really different and clever how the story was told, and that last frame is just beautifully horrific!
Happy thirteenth day of Creepmas! It's been fun sharing how to spookify your holiday season this year, but today marks the final day of the 13 Days of Creepmas. For my final post I wanted to share some Christmas horror movie montages and short films to spread the holiday fear! Some of my faves are included in the video montages below, plus I included some short films to get you in the spooky spirit!
I haven't been posting as many "Watch Now on Netflix" articles as I would like and have a lot of (fairly) new Netflix titles to recommend to you that I need to catch up on (hopefully soon, maybe in one big post)! However, when I saw this animated tribute to Edgar Allan Poe's work, I knew I had to write something about it immediately. You see, I have been wanting and waiting to check out Extraordinary Tales for quite some time now, and was ecstatic when it was recently added to stream on Netflix Instant!
This animated horror anthology features horror greats like Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Guillermo del Toro, Roger Corman, and Julian Sands narrating five Edgar Allan Poe tales and one wraparound story. Each animated short is narrated in a different style, with one having a stark graphic novel look, another one looking like a soft watercolor painting, another featuring bold colors in old comic book style, and so on.
I recently watched the horror short The Herd, which has been dubbed "the first feminist vegan horror film", and I was absolutely blown-away! It is such a visceral, disturbing short film from the talented Melanie Light (I previously reviewed her short film Switch on my old horror site - an archive of this is available HERE). This short comes at a perfect time, as February is Women in Horror Month (in past years I covered this awesome event on my old horror site - full archives of these articles are available HERE)!
This award-winning short is directed by Melanie Light, written by Ed Pope, and stars Pollyanna McIntosh, Victoria Broom, Charlotte Hunter, with Dylan Barnes, Jon Campling, Francessca Fowler, Andrew Shim and Sarah Jane Honeywell.
In the short, young women are imprisoned in dirty, small pens, artificially inseminated, and when they give birth they have their newborns ripped away (male babies are simply discarded in a trashcan to die, females are kept alive, but raised to suffer the same fate as their mothers), are poked and prodded, tortured and taunted by their captors, hooked up to milking machines, and when they are unable to produce babies and milk, killed. It is horrifying how these women are treated, and early on you develop a seething hate for their tormentors. Who in their right mind would treat a human being this way? If you expand that thinking a bit more, you may ask, who would ever treat a sentient being that way?? Shockingly, this kind of treatment happens every single day to dairy cows.
This February marks the 7th year of the fantastic Women in Horror Month, which is a celebration of all that women do for my favorite genre, whether it be in film, literature, or art. It not only highlights all the work that women already do in the genre, but also encourages women to get involved in horror in all roles, including but not limited to directing, writing, acting, editing, producing, blogging, art, music, and so on. I love that there is a month that showcases so much female talent!
If you're like me, you've probably already seen all the Christmas horror films out there multiple times. Also, you are probably busy this time of year and may not have time to watch feature-length movies. Well, I have a solution to both of these quandaries - watch some Christmas-themed short horror films! There are lots of them out there that you probably haven't seen before, and they are bite-sized and perfect for a 10-minute break!
I've gone ahead and selected seven scary short horror films I think you'll enjoy this horror-day season, check them out below:
Drew Daywalt has directed a lot of excellent short films, so I am always excited to see any of his new horror shorts! I recently discovered a short film he wrote and directed called Selfie. It was actually released around Halloween of last year, but it must have slipped under my radar as I just saw it for the first time recently. I had to share it, though, since it is so well-done and such an appropriate bite-sized treat for the upcoming holiday that is just a few short days away!
See what happens one Halloween night to a bored woman who decides to take a selfie:
While browsing the fantastic site Halloween Short Films (also a member of the great 31 Days of Halloween countdown!), I found this gem of a short film, called Trick or Treat, that was made back in 2010. I love the atmosphere of this short, as well as the costume of the killer! Check it out below!
I absolutely adore Pumpkinrot, a Halloween artist that creates some amazing props for his home haunts. He also created a haunting short film a few years ago called "Swamp Foetus". The short features some really cool puppets and props made by Pumpkinrot, and I really love its eerie atmosphere and ghostly score.
You can check out the short below, and please check out Pumpkinrot's incredible blog for Halloween treats year-round!
Only six more days until Halloween! And today I have quite a treat for you...The Halloween Kid, a short by filmmaker Axelle Carolyn!
I first heard about this short last year, but this year is the first time I was finally able to watch it! I think it is a really well-done, nostalgic short about a lonely boy and the joy he finds on Halloween. I love all the autumn and Halloween set pieces in this short and the rhyming narration adds a whimsical touch!
I love when FEARnet posts cute holiday videos featuring Sam from Trick 'r Treat! They just released one featuring Sam helping a little girl build some snowmen...with a macabre twist, of course!
You'll never look at your Christmas tree the same again after watching this insane holiday short from filmmakers Jason Eisener and Rob Cotterill (Hobo With A Shotgun)!
Happy Horror-days!
"Ever thought about how bad it would suck to be a tree during the Christmas season? This wildly bloody and ingeniously insane short from HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN filmmakers Jason Eisener and Rob Cotterill shines light on the forgotten victims of the holidays. Prepare to have your Yuletides yacked!"
Candy is a short film that is just a perfect
bite-sized treat for Halloween! Directed by Sage Hall and written by
Jesse Kozel and Jenny Beres (all of which who star in the film), this
short six minute film is visually stunning, mixing themes from noir,
horror and even avant garde.
Set on Halloween night, it seems that Candy (Sage Hall) has created
quite a spread of Halloween sweets for her son, Marcus (Jesse Kozel).
Marcus is kind of a mama’s boy, though he seems fed up with Candy’s
overbearing nature. Marcus has invited a “date” over, which irks Candy.
However, to get back at her son she befriends the girl (Jenny
Beres)…only, she doesn’t like the girl’s mouthy attitude and things soon
get out of hand…
This is a beautiful and artistically made film! The black and white
visuals really pop, especially with the use of Halloween decorations. It
visuals really give it a retro feel, much like the vintage-inspired
poster above. I also think the June Cleaver-like Candy character adds to
its ‘50s style charm. However, it’s not all sweet…this short definitely
has some bite to it!
I adored the conniving and evil character of Candy. Sage Hall played
her perfectly, without going over the top. Plus the nice little
open-ended twist at the end was great! Jesse Kozel also did a
commendable job playing the loser Marcus and Jenny Beres was good as
Marcus’ foul-mouthed date.
I also must mention the music, done by Abnorml Injustice, which was
extremely atmospheric and added to the wonderful feel of the film. The
music and visuals complemented each other superbly!
Considering this is a low-budget short film, I am amazed at the care
that went into the details of the score, the set design, even the
costumes! The filmmakers must truly be commended for making such a fun
and breathtaking short!
Director Sage Hall has created a truly memorable Halloween-themed
short film that’s visually striking, has a wonderful cast (herself
included) and appears extremely polished and professional. No tricks
here, this sweet treat is exactly what you want dropped into your
Halloween bag!
Watch the trailer:
(Ed. note: I originally wrote this article for my horror site Fatally Yours on October 22nd, 2010.)
