Changeling
Director: Marie Clare Cushinan & Ryan O’Neill
A moody and disturbing dive into poverty, starvation and the loss of a child during potato blight in Ireland. A young couple struggle to survive during a famine but once their young child dies the mother goes into a psychosis believing her child will return as a changeling.
It feels a bit lengthy for the amount of story it tells, but it stays faithful to an overbearing melancholy atmosphere and incorporates some brilliant effects in terms of the changeling itself. Very interesting work overall.
Meet the Devil
Director: Casey Crocker
An impressive and chilling student film project featuring a dark tale of guilt and demonic revenge. A man accidentally mows down an innocent old cowboy while driving late at night, stopping only long enough to realize what he’s done, he speeds off in fear but the guilt of what he’s done soon starts to catch up with him.
A few miles down the road he gets an anon phone call apparently from the car behind, the caller is desperate for some help but soon her pleas for help turn into a sinister laugh, shaked he carries on but step by step the devil or maybe just his guilt is slowly creeping up on him.
The acting isn’t the strong point with this movie, but the narrative will resonate with a lot of people and the dramatic dream sequences are very memorable, but the real winner for this film is easily the analogue aspect, it has a really curious ending with all the classic elements
History of Monsters
Director: Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz
Blistering thriller which will keep you guessing and on edge for the entirety, luckily it’s only shy of 20 minutes. but it has an uncanny valley fear feel like modern classics such as It Follows and strangely has quite a psycho sexual horror connotation about it as well, maybe it’s a new horror trend?
A woman exists alone in a cabin in the woods, she’s been there for years, collecting wood, food and water by day, but by sundown she has to retreat and lock herself away because that’s when the monsters come out. The monsters being unknown pale creatures that seem to be quite deadly by incredibly slow so not an immediate threat.
Antikk
Director: Morten Haslerud
This film really cleared up some awards in 2020. and rightfully so. When a woman picks up a new antique bathtub she intends to have a pleasant soak in a romantic environment but all of her plans are scampered when things start to go awry during her peaceful retreat and she’s stalked by an old hag who haunts the tub. At times the film sounds pretty ridiculous but it’s creepy AF. We all remember how frightening the tub scene was in Grave Encounters..
You wouldn’t think that it was possible to have an episode of thalassophobia in a bathtub but with this haunted article it’s not only possible it’s a key to its chilling secrets. Morten has blended some insane mystical ghostly haunting effects along with a breath stopping underwater scene
The Ogress
Director: Jon Kent
Inspired by a true crime, this fictional short is a mini movie, created by aspiring director Jon Kent. It’s a touch Prime Suspect and a lot of the brilliance of The Devil’s Hour.
The backstory is of a woman who was suspected of killing a handful of children, but later on historians believed her to have killed a lot more than a few hundred more.. But with a modern spate of child disappearances, a plucky detective is on the trail of a new child serial killer or had the old one somehow returned.
The film is very heavily based on a detective story, and it’s worth having a touch of knowledge about the real case however it isn’t essential. The film goes out with a bang, that’s where you’ll find a majority of the effects are saved for the ending and it’s worth the wait.
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