Category: Short Film

[A MONTH OF HORROR – X] Occupied [Short]/2AM: The Smiling Man

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Short FilmLeave a comment

All of today’s subjects can be found on YouTube. The header image is, of course, AI generated.

Occupied

A park ranger finds his night lock up of rest rooms problematic.

This short cartoon is more Comedy than Horror, but that’s all right. Very entertaining.

3 out of 4

2AM: The Smiling Man

A night walker encountering a stranger night walker

This is another repeat.

I rewatched this to compare it to another short. Then I discovered this other short had six previous entries and I thought: Here’s a whole night’s viewing. So I put it off.

My opinion of this hasn’t changed over the years. Four minutes, and not a moment wasted. No CGI, no seriously goofy twists. Just a creepy short, well worth anyone’s time.

3.5 out of 4

[A MONTH OF HORROR – VII] Francis and a Summation of the First Week

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster Movies, Short Film, SummationLeave a comment

A girl rows out to the middle of the wrong lake.

Thought I watched this for a Month of Horror. The second one, in fact. As that’s in the archives and not easily gotten to, I’m reprinting what I said here about the short:

So I’m looking for an animated Horror short to watch on YouTube. This one looked interesting to me for whatever reason, and I clicked on it. As it loaded up, I thought I’d look for another one after I was done here. A cartoon about a young woman going to the center of a lake, where something knocks at the bottom of her boat. Thought it was called Knock, Knock.

It wasn’t. It was called Francis.

Well I thought it was a funny coincidence.

That out of the way, this is a nice little feature, with only one or two missteps along the way. These are Cullen Carps, though, and we can ignore them safely.

(Well, no, let’s hit one: we see the underside of the boat when the knocker should be there and see nothing. Shouldn’t have done that.)

Everything else, though, works. It’s narrated, and the narrator does a hell of a job selling the story. Even without the animation, just listening to it, you’d have a nice chill going for you.

No points given in that golden oldie. So here’s what I thought about tonight’s viewing:

4 out of 4

Summation of Week One

This is what was watched:

  • House on Haunted Hill (1959)
  • The White Reindeer (1952)
  • House on Eden (2025)
  • Suspiria (1977)
  • The Vampire (1957)
  • Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory (1961)
  • Francis [SHORT] (2013)

Best Movie of the Week

This was a great week for Horror, with only one stumbling block out of the bunch. I’m going to give the nod to Suspiria, as that never fails to delight me. Honestly, though? It could easy be a six way tie as far as I’m concerned here and now.

Worst Movie of the Week

Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory. Hands down. Not a chill to be found. The Vampire is a better werewolf movie.

Unintended Themes 

Three werewolf movies and three movies out of the Fifties. I don’t care, just noting something interesting

Biggest Surprise

 House on Haunted Hill. That one was creepy, and I’d seen it before. Most interesting.

Newest Film Watched

House on Eden at 2025.

Oldest Film Watched

The White Reindeer at 1952.

Best Monster Flick

Francis.

One week down, three more to go!

[MONTH OF HORROR] The Other Side of the Box/The Chair/Stalled/Friday the 13th

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I may or may not have taken the day off for making a buffer for the sister site. As this was Friday the 13th it seemed appropriate to watch the movie. I have it as a Golden Oldie that hasn’t been reposted and I’ve been delaying it because a.) my thoughts on the movie have changed since writing it and b.) I wanted a rewatched because of the former reason. Rewatch accomplished, I’m thinking of rewriting everything except maybe the Viewing Thoughts section. Then it gets a repost. Maybe on the next Friday the 13th.

This is, of course, the original film and not the remake. While I didn’t hate that sucker I never had the calling to watch it again. Which is, of course, telling.

I watched several other short flicks today to make up for the potential day off. All three are on YouTube.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOX

A man brings over a box for his estranged friend.

One of the problems I had last year watching shorts was how similar they all seemed to be. This one takes its premise and runs with it. Very good work, with good acting. Sort of wish I watched it last year instead of the questionable one I did watch.

The Chair

A young man brings home the wrong chair.

Our previous flick had rules behind it’s supernatural and played with them more or less fair. This one has no such grounding. It’s a chaotic plot where the viewer isn’t quite sure what’s going on. Which, considering that’s exactly what our protagonist is feeling, is just fine. Great little flick. Might have been the best of the night, in fact, had it not been for…

Stalled

A jerk of a business man finds himself trapped in a time paradox.

This isn’t Horror at all, but it’s too much fun not to mention. You’re left with some questions at the end, but all in all a good time is had. If you can only watch one of these shorts, make it this one.

[Month of Horror] Night Visions: Now He’s Coming Up the Stairs/The Gate/The Backwater Gospel

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Ghost Movies, Monster Movies, Short Film, TV Anthology (MoH)Leave a comment

Night Visions

Now He’s Coming Up the Stairs

A psychiatrist with the ability to absorb the illnesses of his patients comes upon a situation that may be more than he can handle.

Yes, I cribbed that summary from the show’s Wikipedia page.

Yes, I am ashamed of myself.

One confession done, here’s another.

At some point I grew tired of TV shows. Could not force myself to watch them. Told myself something had to give between the reading, the tv, and the videogames, might as well be the TV.

Watching Now He’s Coming Up the Stairs, it occurs to me this apathy started around the same year this series came out.

There is something entirely too familiar about this story. The acting, the direction, I don’t know what. It just felt too much like something I’ve watched a thousand times before. Or struggled to watch a thousand times before.

How bad did it get? Well the episode comes with two stories and I’m only talking about one. How bad do you think it got?

I had a similar problem earlier in the month. I tried to watch an episode of Ghost Story staring Jason Robards (of all people) and I didn’t make the halfway point. Too dull.

Or seemingly dull. Same thing, though, when push comes to shove.

All of this might seem to point towards me carping about Now He’s Coming Up the Stairs. And I did have problems. The script could have used a rewrite, maybe even shortening. Certain parts to my mind didn’t add up. There was entirely too much Luke Perry.

Entirely.

Too.

Much.

Those, though, might be considered Cullen Carps and discarded. The moment Our Hero begins his latest attempt to help someone on is gripping stuff. Well worth the wait getting there.

In other words, it does it’s job. Maybe not a great episode, but certainly a good one (1.5). I kind of like it (1.5) and might seek out some more. Especially the ones directed by the Great Joe Dante and Not Really That Bad Toby Hooper.

Though I’m not finishing the episode Now He’s Coming Up the Stairs belongs to. That story just ain’t clicking with me at all.

Oh, and Henry Rollins as Rod Serling? Really? Nothing against the guy, but really?

3 out of 4

The Gate

A couple of kids open up a gate to Hell. Typical weekend, actually.

This is yet another one of those films I can slip on and watch anytime and still get a kick out of it. Yeah, the effects can be lame, and yeah, the acting is only just adequate. Watching it this time I thought it would have worked better if it was a wee bit shorter.

And more Italian leaning. If you catch my drift.

But you know what? When it works, it works. It’s funny most of the time, and it has more than a few truly nightmarish moments. The final monster is one of cinema’s best.

It’s a good movie (1.5) that I love (2.0).

Oh, and the Dark Gods as malicious pranksters? I can almost see that.

3.5 out of 4

The Backwater Gospel

An agent of death comes to a backwaters town.

I didn’t like this cartoon short the first time I watched it, and I can’t now say why. It’s perfect, nasty in the way Horror should be nasty.

Great stuff (2.0). But do I love it? Yeah, maybe I do. (2.0)

Oh, and the Undertaker’s smile? Yeesh.

4 out of 4

[Month of Horror] Last Bus Home/Trick or Treat

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Last Bus Home

A young woman and a young man wait for a ride in the dark of night.

Same premise as with our previous subject, Waiting, with a young woman experiencing difficulties while waiting for a bus. Short, well acted, but not particularly scary.

Good (1.5), but I didn’t get the same kick as the earlier film. So maybe a meh (1).

2.5 out of 4

Trick or Treat

A couple faces a persistent Trick-or-Treater.

This one, though, is a delight. Well acted, decent story, it made me wish it was longer. Not scary but creepy, very creepy.

I’ll say good (1.5) and liked (1.5)

3 out of 4

[Month of Horror] Who’s Hungry?/Leave/Run

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For the record, I also watched There’s a Man in the Woods again. Take that for what it’s worth.

Who’s Hungry?

A brother and sister run after the wrong ice cream truck.

This is a very charming little animate short. No dialogue, just action, and it really doesn’t waste time. I didn’t find it scary or particularly thrilling, but maybe it wasn’t supposed to be. I looked up Horror Short Anime Film and this popped up with the other suggestions that didn’t look like anime. It might have just been made to entertain.

Well it succeeded. It’s pretty good (1.5) and I rather liked it (1.5).

3 out of 4

Leave

A doomed tree grove takes steps to save itself.

This short shares problems with a lot of other shorts. All it is is a single scare, built up to, then executed. It feels more like the start of something rather than a complete whole.

Which would be okay, I guess, had it been scary. It wasn’t. Nicely shot, a little too dark, and one hopes the film makers move on to better things.

Two mehs. I dunno if I should put the numbers in or not. But you get the idea.

2 out of 4

Run

A man goes into the woods in search of a missing woman.

Then there’s this flick.

It’s shot on a Go-Pro on a head rig and shows. It’s antagonist makes no sense; there are whole scenes that that make no sense. Is this something the man is actually seeing? A recording? What?

What dialogue it has is written out on screen. Not sure why. All it all, the whole thing has the feel of a Horror Walking Simulator. Just really kind of off putting, especially when the main character refused to move where my mouse told him to.

These are the jokes folks.

That aside, Leave is the better made film. By a large margin.

So why am I giving this a low good (1.5)?

Because Run, nonsensical as it is, does it’s God damn job.

Four freaking jump scares. One I saw coming a mile away and still jumped. It ain’t fine art, but it’ll do until something better comes along.

Seriously, I liked it (1.5) far more than it deserves. If I hadn’t rewatched There’s a Man in the Woods it would have been the best thing I saw today.

3 out of 4

[Month of Horror] This Dark Thought/There’s a Man in the Woods/Homesick

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Three shorts, all on You Tube. All dealing with kids in some fashion or another. Not my intent to do a theme today. Interesting nonetheless.

This Dark Thought

A young astronomer has a bad night while babysitting her infant sister.

Looking for words, here.

This animated short is well done. It has no dialogue, yet it tells a cohesive story.

Too much baby crying, which is petty considering the nature of the tale.

It didn’t really work for me (1.0), but I have a hard time saying it was bad. Low good (1.5), I think.

Your mileage might vary.

2.5 out of 4

There’s a Man in the Woods

A teacher has to deal with a bratty kid.

I watched this one last year, I think. Can’t for the life of me remember what I thought of it then.

Here, though, is another animated short, with art a lot less polished that our previous subject. Serviceable enough for the story and never really bad. Just not my style.

Outside of that? No complaints. Told as a poem, it builds and builds right up to the end, like a good Horror piece should. We’ll give it a low great (2.0), not that that matters. I liked it (1.5). Might watch it again next year. Or sooner.

3.5 out of 4

Homesick

A young boy waits at home for his mother.

As with This Dark Thought, this is not a bad little flick. The main character in it, a little boy, does his part quite well. It’s well shot, you get the feel for what’s going on.

It’s just I didn’t care. Like at all. And it sort of peters to a stop. You think there should be more, and there just isn’t.

Of the three, this is the big loser of the night. Meh (1) is sort of harsh, but one brief jump scare ain’t cutting it this time. Maybe I’m just not the audience for this (1).

2 out of 4

[Month of Horror] Second Week Summation

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Ghost Movies, Monster Movies, Short Film, Summation2 Comments

Told you no repeat of the ten movie watch. This week I watched eleven. And skipped a day.

The movies are as follows:

  • Blackbird (Short)
  • In Vaulted Halls Entombed (Netflix Show episode)
  • Chainsaw Maid (Animated Short)
  • Deadstream (Feature)
  • Waiting (Animated Short)
  • Dagon (Animated Short)
  • Laura Hasn’t Slept (Short)
  • Withered (Short)
  • 2AM: The Smiling Man (Real Short)
  • This Is Not a Test (Short)
  • The Shrine (Feature)

Note: Unless noted otherwise, the shorts I watch for these reviews are on You Tube. Except for Laura Hasn’t Slept , which has been pulled by Paramount.

Looks like more shorts than features. Not my intent for this series, but real life writes the plot. I’m already doing better for Week 3.

Only two of these were perfects. No film dipped below 2.5 points, which might be an improvement. Depending on where you stand on the matter.

The top three, in order of preference more than quality:

1. (tied) Deadstream/Chainsaw Maid

3. The Shrine.

Though 2AM comes close to edging out The Shrine.

The worst flick I watched would be Blackbird.

Film pushing the Short category to its limit: Dagon. Really, it’s more of an audio with pictures.

Two weeks down. A new week begins…

[Month of Horror] Laura Hasn’t Slept/Withered

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Laura Hasn’t Slept

A woman seeks counseling about her dreams.

Note: Unless noted otherwise, the shorts I watch for these reviews are on You Tube. Except for this one. This one has been pulled by Paramount. Which is their right.

Right at the end of September I watched the hit Horror flick Smile in a theater. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen a hundred times before. I’d guessed the end well before we got there. All said, though, it was a good representation of its plot, it had good scares, and while it has some padding here and there it wasn’t a bad time. I liked it.

So when I learned it was based on a short film, today’s subject, I sought it out on You Tube.

It has a plot you’ve seen before. You’ll guess the ending way before you get there. And there’s some padding where you probably don’t need it.

And like Smile, I had a blast with Laura Hasn’t Slept. It is an extremely well made example of its kind.

I would even go so far as to say this is the better of the two films.

Great flick (2.0). Not sure I’d say I loved it, so we’ll go with like (1.5)

3.5 out of 4

Withered

A man digs up something nasty in his garden.

This one I wasn’t so lucky with.

Oh, it’s fine. It has some jump scares that made me jump (at least one that really shouldn’t have, so props for that). And it wasn’t too irritating.

It’s just that there’s something missing.

Part of it is the acting, which really isn’t good. It’s also a bit lack luster in places in terms of direction and special effect.

But what really kills it is that it suffers from a lack of motivation for what was going on and no set rules for the antagonist. It does what it does because of plot.

This is a common problem with a lot of shorts. I realize that sometimes you don’t need a motivation. Laura Has Slept‘s villain doesn’t say why he’s doing what he’s doing, or what he gains out things. But there’s an in-story reason why this doesn’t matter.

No such luck here.

All that said, I don’t think a meh works for it (it did do its job and scare), so we’re saying a low good (1.5). Personally I’m sort of meh on it all together (1.0)

2.5 out of 4

[Month of Horror] Waiting/Dagon (Short)

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster Movies, Short Film2 Comments

WAITING

Two women wait for a ride in the dark of night.

Short films tend to be hit or miss, but I’ve been finding the cartoons to be more hit than miss. This particular little flick I found on You Tube is no exception to this.

It’s basically animated with no voice acting. Still, it’s a good tale well told (1.5) and I rather enjoyed it. (2.0)

3.5 out of 4

Dagon

An escaped prisoner of war discovers that he might have been better off not escaping.

This particular short (again on You Tube) really isn’t a movie. What very little animation it has is even more basic than Waiting; the rest is (admittedly well done) drawings inspired by the H. P. Lovecraft story.

The whole thing is showcase for the reading, which comprises I believe the entire text. The reader does a great job with the telling of the tale.

The problem is that Dagon isn’t one of Lovecraft’s best works. First published, not a bad effort, but he gets a lot better.

All said and done, a good effort (1.5). I kind of like it (1.5).

3 out of 4