Tag: USA

THE STORM

The Storm
Written & Directed by Andre LeBlanc
2013, USA

It is not uncommon for a horror short film to play like the opening scene of a feature film.

This is the case with great horror shorts like Pedro Cristiani’s Deus Irae, Dante Vescio & Rodrigo Gasparini’s M is for Mailbox and Can Evrenol’s Baskin among others.

However, it is very unusual for a horror short to play like the first scene of the last third of a feature film like The Storm does.

Made by highly accomplished visual effects artist LeBlanc, this film is an ambitious take on the “Arctic horror” subgenre occupied by such feature films as all three versions of The Thing, Yim Pil-Sung’s Antarctic Journal (2005) and Larry Fessenden’s The Last Winter (2006).

The filmmaker is currently in post-production on another science fiction-oriented horror short called They Watch.

BEATING HEARTS

Beating Hearts
Written & Directed by Matthew Garrett
2010, USA

Garrett creates a disturbing take on the “killer kids” subgenre with Beating Hearts, a short film you are not likely to forget any time soon.

This film can also be seen as an outstanding entry in the world of the domestic horror film occupied by other great short films such as Douglas Buck’s Prologue and Brandon LaGanke’s Play House.

Garrett previously made the excellent short film Ellie which he later incorporated into his superb anthology feature film Morris County which is available from Unearthed Films.

The filmmaker is also the curator of the Vivisections Horror Short Films program at the Mausoleum of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia.

PLAY HOUSE

Play House
Written & Directed by Brandon LaGanke
2012, USA

Ever wondered which short film you should watch to get yourself in the mood for a screening of Joseph Ruben’s 1987 classic The Stepfather?

You found your answer here in LaGanke’s disturbing horror short Play House.

Douglas Buck is correctly considered the godfather of what might be called “domestic horror” in the short film world with his creations Cutting Moments, Home and Prologue.

LaGanke creates another classic in the subgenre with this film.  Play House is a tremendous improvement over LaGanke’s black comedy short film debut Bunny Boy and shows directing talent that begs to be applied to a horror feature.

OTHER

Other
Directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio
Screenplay by Anthony R. Williams, Daniel DelPurgatorio & Rob Foster
2012, USA

Accomplished animator, effects artist and designer DelPurgatorio creates this dark tale of a visionary doctor’s attempt to cure his own terminal illness with unexpectedly grim results.

Perhaps best known as the co-director of the animated short Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, Delpurgatorio directs Other in the style of the early David Cronenberg films Stereo and Crimes of the Future but with more memorable results.

DelPurgatorio directed another science fiction-oriented horror short called Body(s) in 2015.

SPOILER

Spoiler
Written & Directed by Daniel Thron
2011, USA

Incorporating a high-tech police procedural element, Spoiler’s unique take on a zombie apocalypse has been very accurately described as “Michael Mann meets George Romero” by both viewers and Thron himself.

An accomplished visual effects artist who made a crime short film called Code 77 in 2015, let’s hope Thron returns soon to the world of horror filmmaking.

NO WAY OUT

No Way Out
Directed by Kristofer Aaron Morgan
Written by Kristofer Aaron Morgan & Eric Vespe
2011, USA

Morgan and Vespe previously collaborated on the action-oriented horror short film Blind (2004) and show leaps and bounds of growth with No Way Out, a nightmarish short that’s much better in every way than Blind.

Morgan and Vespe are currently working on their horror feature The Home.

INCUBATOR

Incubator
Written & Directed by Jimmy Weber
2011, USA

Director/screenwriter Weber delivers a huge improvement over his previous horror short The Gatekeeper (2010) in this take on the well-known “kidney donor” urban legend.

Incubator can be seen as the type of short film that plays like the first scene of a feature film as in the case of Deus Irae or a self-contained piece that would make a great double feature paired with David Alcalde’s El Ciclo.

Weber went on to make the horror feature Eat in 2014.

BURN

Burn
Written & Directed by Jerry Pyle
2011, USA

Director/screenwriter Pyle makes a very strong debut that channels the brutal essence of author Jack Ketchum’s best short story work.

Pyle wisely cast the criminally underrated and underutilized actor Tim Abell in the film.

Mostly known for the late 1990s TV series Soldier of Fortune, Inc. and a lengthy resume of direct-to-DVD films, it’s a true mystery why the talented Abell did not show up in a major recurring role on Sons of Anarchy, Justified or any number of other more high-profile projects.

Pyle also directed the psychopath horror short Service and the darkly comic short Trust.

OFF SEASON

Off Season
Written & Directed by Jonathan van Tulleken
2009, USA

Director/screenwriter van Tulleken delivers a highly atmospheric, suspenseful short film highlighted by the superb cinematography of Ming Kai Leung.

Van Tulleken has primarily focused on comedy since this great horror short but has had two feature films announced, including a feature version of Off Season.

DRAG

DRAG
Written & Directed by Mark Pavia
1993, USA

Much has been written about how Stephen King was very impressed by Pavia’s zombie short film which led to Pavia co-screenwriting and directing the film adaptation of King’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker-influenced short story The Night Flier (1997).

The talented Pavia has since had difficulty launching another feature film but that is not for lack of effort as the screenwriter/director has made it into various stages of development on horror projects including Slice, an adaptation of the acclaimed zombie comic book series Deadworld and a 1980s-style killer Santa Claus film Sick Nick to name a few.

Pavia has recently announced he’s working on an anthology film based on four Stephen King short stories called The Reaper’s Image and is currently in production on a new horror film called Fender Bender.