By BRYAN CHRISTOPHER
Happy Halloween, short horror fans! On this, the spookiest of spooky days, take a few moments to enjoy some bite sized horror to go with your bite-sized candy. On deck this month we have a fun demon film by way of Nora Ephron, a slick slasher tribute, and some comically disgusting body horror. Enjoy, and as always, if you or anyone you know have a short film you’d like me to consider or if you’ve got some news you’d like to share in the short horror world, please contact me via Twitter or email me at remedialhorror@gmail.com!
Demon Juice (2022)
Length: 14:10 minutes Director: Shannon Brown Starring: Allyn Pintal, Anastasia Washington, Annelise Dekker-Hernandez, Maddy Wager
Director Shannon Brown playfully answers the question “what if the events of Evil Dead occurred during a girls weekend” in her short film featuring four gal pals who accidentally call upon demonic entities by imbibing the titular beverage in their Airbnb. Brown’s light comedy approach is a really fun entry point to the classic demon possession tale, as the clash of each subgenre’s respective tropes makes for some really fun gags. The identity reveal of the malevolent entity is pretty damn funny, too, so go into this one more prepared for a grin than a grimace.
Where to find it: Streaming on YouTube
The Loop (2019)
Length: 6:34 minutes Director: Rich Ragsdale Starring: Shane Almagor, Will Abbott, Grace Westlin, Mosh
When young Mikey’s older brother makes him watch an underground tape called The Loop, little does he know how immersive an experience the viewing will be. At first titillated by the classic slasher tropes of the circa 1980s film, including a scantily clad woman and one-liner spewing bad guy, Mikey is horrified when said baddie becomes aware of his presence and pulls him into the film to become his next victim. This is a tight, well-polished pastiche to ’80s slashers that injects just enough new personality that it doesn’t feel like a retread, and knows better than to overstay its welcome. Filmmakers who want to tip their caps to one of our favorite subgenres should take note from this fun little film.
Where to find it: Streaming on YouTube
It’s Not Custard (2018)
Length: 5:56 minutes Director: Kate McCoid Starring: Charlotte Luxford, Kate Leiper, Will Cox, Donal Cox (voice)
Being a teenager can suck pretty much across the board, but I have to imagine it’s that much harder being a teenage girl where your appearance is always under a microscope. Such is the case in Kate McCoid’s short about a girl who’s been made a social pariah over a simple case of acne. McCoid takes an over-the-top approach to the story, with a melodramatic narrator providing commentary about all the people who are awful to this poor girl, from the dumb jock to her callous sister. So when she makes a desperate wish for change, the universe grants her wish with a truly bizarre side effect. Charlotte Luxford’s quiet, subdued performance as the young heroine provides a delightful contrast to Donal Cox’s bombastic, Matt Berry-esque narration that builds up to a nauseatingly funny punchline in the film’s closing moments.
Where to find it: Streaming on YouTube
