By BRYAN CHRISTOPHER
Welcome back for a new round of Short Cuts! Hopefully you’re navigating your post-Halloween hangover and Zoom Thanksgiving conversations with aplomb, but if you’re dragging (like me) take some time and relax with a few new short horror films before the holidays. This month includes a disturbing look at the path to a mass shooting, a well-worn childhood prank gone horribly wrong, and an action-packed peek at the darker side of Aztec mythology.
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!
Good Guy with a Gun (2020)
Length: 19 minutes Director: Bryian Keith Montgomery, Jr. Starring: Patrick Hogue, Nicole Murray, Everson Pierce, Jerry Parker, Jr., Christine Lutete
Earlier this year, Bryian Keith Montgomery, Jr. took an unflinching look at police brutality in his short film, Chickens. His latest effort, Good Guy with a Gun, serves as something of a twisted companion piece to Chickens we it depicts the events leading up to a mass shooting through the perspective of the gunman. It’s satire with a twisted sense of humor, one the belies something of a “laugh to keep from crying” mentality as Montgomery shows us that these kinds of things don’t just happen. Rather, they are the culmination of unchecked toxic masculinity, police fetishism, and lax gun laws that permeate this film and, unfortunately, our culture. Montgomery doesn’t make films that are easy to watch, but he does make it hard to look away.
Where you can find it: Streaming on YouTube
Wet Willy (2020)
Length: 4 minutes Director: Nic Stanish Starring: Zachary Franz Schott, Joe Morgan, Travis Burt
Having been both the perpetrator and the recipient of my share of wet willies, I can say they’re pretty disgusting no matter what end of the equation you’re on. Nic Stanish’s short film takes that idea to an appropriately disgusting extreme as a troubled young boy is tormented by the school bully until he gets an assist from another student who may or may not also be a malevolent spirit. Wet Willy is just a delightfully icky short that I guarantee will make anyone think twice about participating in the long-standing prank. If it succeeds in stemming the tide of wet willies, I motion for a follow up that takes on pink bellies.
Where you can find it: Streaming in YouTube
Mistress of Bones (2020)
Length: 10 minutes Director: Gigi Saul Guerrero Starring: Nicole Muñoz, Edwin Perez, Michel Issa Rubio
When a couple of grave robbers go searching for an amulet meant to give rise to a powerful demon, we know things just can’t end well for them. Of course their plans go both right and horribly wrong, but just as the demon is ready to lay waste to the mortal realm, we’re introduced to “The Mistress,” a powerful, masked demigod ready to face it with some funky aerial work and a giant, spiked sword. This short has a very old school feel to it while also featuring some great fight sequences, some creative creature effects, and some healthy doses of blood splashed in for good measure. I’d definitely be up for watching Nicole Muñoz kick more demon ass in the future.
Where you can find it: Streaming on YouTube
