Reviews

While Lot254 looks beautiful and has a very unique feel about it with a semi-creative idea and foundation, I fail to accept this as a "horror" film. It's creepy, sure, but the only scary part is two jumpscares, and personally I feel that jumpscares are very cheap and uncreative ways to get a rise out of your audience; they're short-lasting and 100% not psychological, and the opposite is what I look for in good horror flicks.

The idea of looking through a haunted camera isn't original, but the setting and cinematography make Lot254 feel professional and solid. I just wish they were equally creative with the scare factor, and actually tried instead of just playing super loud sketchy sound effects while they throw a scary face at the viewer. Not to mention the background ambiance throughout the entire film isn't original either, I know I've heard it before, and I want to go out on a limb and say that I've found that exact ambiance track by looking up "horror ambiance" on YouTube.

If there's one good thing we can say about Lot254 is that it looks pretty, and the atmosphere isn't half-bad.

The Sleepover starts like most horror flicks nowadays and doesn't do anything particularly interesting, especially since it's entirely based around a recycled fairytale (the Boogie Monster). But where The Sleepover goes right is it's suspense, sudden rises in action and a unique and effective soundtrack. There were a few jokes thrown in there and honestly I don't know if I would've preferred this as a comedy/horror or just a straight horror, part of me wishes it didn't end the way it did, but you'll have to watch for yourself to understand what I'm saying.

But since the idea was to make it a comedy/horror, it's actually a very lighthearted, somewhat creepy and well put-together flick. The acting of Josh Feldman and Gus Kamp (the boys) was stop-and-go, while most lines were delivered effectively, some just didn't match up with the correct emotion and it was somewhat off-putting. I would've liked the first bit of action to be more sudden even though I dislike jumpscares, but the timing seemed off to me. But aside from a few small setbacks, The Sleepover is a quality horror/comedy short film worth 6 minutes of your life.

I half want to say that the only reason this film was made was so the creator could create a weird sexual fantasy of making a naked eel-like woman. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem if that's what gets you off, but as a "horror" short, this film was terrible. From the strange overly-serious acting clashing with the super silly acting, to the terrible soundtrack and absolute lack of sound effects in some parts, Eel Girl was below par in almost every field.

The camera work was good, and the eel girl special effects weren't too bad either (though extended shots of her face show flaws), but the rest of it was just dreadful. The non-impactful "action", the sheer stupidity shown by the doctor, it was all terrible writing and honestly not worth your 6 minutes. Or maybe it is because you may love it as some people do, and gambling 6 minutes isn't too risky, but I can tell you right now, if you're looking for something that will creep you out and leave you scared for a good period of time, look elsewhere.

This short was hilarious, it covered all of the horror movie clichés and poked fun at them in clever ways. From start to end I was at least chuckling; laughing out loud a couple times. Horror is my favorite genre and I'm also a huge fan of comedy, so trust me when I say this is a really well-done and funny short that makes fun of all of the tropes surrounding horror nowadays. This did a much better job than Killer Kart.

Though it did drag on a little bit, which I suppose was the idea but it got to a point eventually where it kind of got boring towards the end; they should've cut a few minutes off and condensed a few scenes a bit and it would've been perfect. The casting and special effects as well as the cinematography and writing were all on-point. It's definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of horror or comedy, as it's only 10 minutes long anyway, but that 10 minutes is chuck full of well-executed comedy.

As far as clichés go, Slash-in-the-Box has them all: possessed toys, ball bouncing down stairs, hot female lead, wise-ass male lead, clowns, overly- curious characters, and wondering a dark house at night (though they actually turned a light on which is unheard of).

There were a couple clever scenes but aside from that there's not much to be gained from watching this. A couple jumpscares might get you here and there but personally I loath jumpscares and think they're very short- lasting and uncreative ways to scare your audience. The gore wasn't too overdone, as I would've expected it to be in such a cliché of a short.

Overall it wasn't bad though, the cinematography, acting and special effects were actually really good, the story and idea itself were just very dull and the methods to convey said story and idea were way too cliché for my liking.

Waterborne was disappointing, and not because it was overall a bad film. It was disappointing because of how much better it could've been, and how much promise it showed but ignored. First of all, zombies are overdone in every respect nowadays, even animal zombies; let's face it, it's straight up boring. Waterborne really just brings nothing new to the table and should've been thought over a few more times before reaching it's final cut. But I will admit the acting and camera work is very well done; but as I mentioned previously, it simply makes the rest of the movie look worse.

I think where Waterborne went the most wrong is the fact that it didn't even try to put it's own twist on zombies, it just straight-up has zombies; nothing special, they don't move fast, they're not afraid of the light, they can't talk, they can't strategize, they're not mutants instead, they're just boring zombies. Now I realize a lot of people love zombie movies and personally I appreciate them a lot too, but to have zombies just for the sake of having zombies is boring and pointless; the animals/people could've turned into mutants instead of zombies, just anything more creative would've given Waterborne a better mark than 5/10.

While the idea behind Don't Move is nothing special, it is interesting and makes the viewer think a little bit. You can just imagine how difficult it would be to stand perfectly still as if your life depended on it; it's relateable and I feel like that's what makes it feel so unnerving. The fact that you could watch your friend die before your eyes and wouldn't be able to flinch a muscle lest you meet the same fate is terrifying and exactly why I found Don't Move to be such a well-executed short.

The acting is decent and the special effects are flawless; albeit the gore is overdone as is the case with most horror shorts (gotta pack a lot into such a brief run-time I suppose). Because of the overdone gore and the fact that the idea is very unoriginal in most aspects, I'm being slightly generous with my mark of 8/10. With camera work, special effects and acting like this, Don't Move could even be considered better than most modern full-length horror flicks.

Lights Out is a tiny jewel which more horror fans should know about. It's extremely simple and does nothing surprisingly well, but the fact that it's 3 minutes and so simple but still evokes that feel of horror is impressive to say the least. It deals with the "darkness brings evil" aspect many horror movies touch bases with at one point in the film; so there's nothing special about the idea behind Lights Out, it's the execution and cinematography. The cinematography is above average but also nothing incredible, the camera angles work and some are pretty clever and do a damn good job with the suspense, but is it something I've never seen before? No.

Where Lights Out shines is the mood, atmosphere, and emotion, and just how quickly is establishes it all (in under 2 minutes), and how it goes out with a bang. I'm not a fan of jump scares, I think they're typically very cheap ways to get some cheap short-lasting scares out of your audience and I have quite the aversion to their uncreativity. But the couple jump scares Lights Out uses I'm actually okay with because of how well executed they were. And when I say I'm glad a film had a jump scare in it, you know it must be special.

The feeling of dread, familiarity, sympathy, inevitability, and atmosphere was so well established within these 3 minutes, it makes me wish Lights Out was more well known by fellow horror fans.

I love stupid comedy and I love horror, but it's very difficult to mix the two effectively and create a good byproduct. First of all, if you're making a horror spoof the viewer shouldn't be confused as to whether the film is comedy or completely serious. It took until the first cheesy line from Cass's boyfriend (when she found him outside) for me to realize it was actually supposed to be funny.

Killer Kart has way too much screaming, not enough comedy, and looks as if the director took the subject matter too seriously, and secretly wanted to make it 100% horror. The dialogue was atrocious, and the clichés ever- present. The casting was very stereotypical of horror movies as well: tiny helpless screaming girls, a douchey guy that only thinks about sex, and a huge burly man that everyone thinks is a dick.

The camera angles and production quality were rather high though, which makes the film look good, whether or not it actually is. But the boring dialogue, character, and premise of the entire situation is dull and leaves creativity in the dark.

I couldn't help but crack up at the parts where Blinky was starting to go bad, I'd like to believe it's possible to depict a cute little robot going evil in a non-comical way, but maybe in this medium such a scenario just isn't possible and I should excuse the director. It was a very predictable short and nothing too clever, but the special effects were top-notch and the acting was above average. The idea behind BlinkyTM was unoriginal but the story seemed very fleshed out and set in reality compared to most other shorts of the horror genre, if you can even consider BlinkyTM "horror". That's the main problem I had with this short: the absolute lack of horror aspects in it. The film dragged on and that's saying a lot when talking about a 13 minute short; nothing really happened, 12 minutes were used to set the stage, and 1 minute was used for horror.

The short itself--regardless of the lack of horror--was still well done, albeit riddled with clichés (fighting parents, neglected kid, takes it out on the robot, etc.) which make the film rather uninteresting. It's definitely not a short you'll remember for years to come, it's very forgettable but the quality of special effects and execution of the short overall--even though lacking in the horror field--earns itself a generous 7/10 from me.

Genius cinematography and clever structure and progression make Suckablood a very well put-together short film, albeit with an unintentionally comical title. It walks the fine line between a child's cautionary tale and a terrifying horror film, and does it quite gracefully. The narration is perfect and the poem is thoughtful and effective. The only reason I'm not giving it any higher a mark would have to be because of a few clichés and the fact that I would've preferred it to be straight-up terrifying horror film with no child's cautionary tale aspect to it. Though the writing and acting is brilliant, which makes it worth the 7 minutes of your time if you're into horror.

I'm a big fan of Robert Morgan, and he succeeds to impress with this short film. The unnerving and downright strange nature of the entire film puts the viewer in a weird and vulnerable mood, establishing the atmosphere perfectly for what is to come. Morgan is a master of nightmarish stop motion flicks and in The Cat With Hands you'll see plenty of said technique. The human, live-action clips are almost unnecessary (I almost like the Pilot version better), but they do a good job in rooting the story in reality, giving it a bit of a background and meaning, and they do a very good job at showing the contrast of real life to the nightmarish land that depicts the cautionary tale in action. There's something extremely unsettling about Morgan's work and in this film it delivers full force, which is why I enjoy his work so much. He doesn't use cheap jump scares and throw things at the viewer with loud sounds to establish "horror" (which I would argue isn't even horror at all), instead he creeps you out to a breaking point where you're mind is messed up for the rest of the day thinking about what you just watched, and I love it.

There's no doubt that the two main characters being super hot and flirty is just to distract from the clichés to follow. While Skypemare may have one hell of a cheesy title, it does deliver in the horror aspect, albeit in stereotypical and predictable ways. Someone being grabbed by an unknown intruder on the other side of a Skype call is far from original, but I think you'll find the idea is driven home with above average acting, high- budget filming, and quality special effects. But with an idea so dull it's hard to give Skypemare a decent mark, if one thing can be said about Skypemare's originality it's that it did manage to put it's own twist on the Skype call gone wrong shtick by having the intruder send her pictures of what is happening on the other side of the call, as a way of enticing and torturing the main character, giving Skypemare a chilling mood about it. Also has a decent and actually unexpected twist at the end; it's worth 8 minutes of your time.

Who the hell runs out of a house and calls the cops because the girl they're babysitting has a doll her mom doesn't know about? The main character is guilty of extreme overreaction and it's honestly the only way the director establishes tension throughout the short. The doll/crazy guy in mask idea has been beat into the ground over the years and comes off as nothing more than cheesy nowadays.

So you may be wondering why this film even got a 6/10 from me. Well for starters the cinematography was A+. Whoever was behind the camera shouldn't be working on small films like this, they deserve the big-time. The camera work was better than many high-budget, full-length horror flicks nowadays and it's what saved Red Balloon from being completely dull. The fact that the film was so easy on the eyes excuses most of it's other shortcomings, though let it be known the idea, story, execution and most executive creative decisions were poorly done.