Short Film Reviews: Four Fearsome Fright Flicks From Andrew J.D. Robinson

Now for something completely F’n different…some rapid fire revoltin’ reviews of a quartet of short subject fright films! (All of the following were created by Andrew J.D. Robinson; the award winning filmmaker/founder of the 15 Second Horror Film Challenge)
Let’s kick things off with:
SIGHTINGS
 

 
 
In Sightings two women sit in a car and reflect on the disappearance of their missing sister (who’s fate is no mystery given the structure of this film). During the course of the picture we learn the women’s memories and dreams of their sibling, as well as their extreme (and convincing) emotional distress.
While the acting, aesthetic and make-up design is all rather impressive to say the least, out of all of the films reviewed in this piece this one was my least favorite…and I can’t quite put my finger on why. To me it seemed opening the film with the imagery Robinson did it cut some of the visceral punch of the story a tad, but all said, this is a strong short overall.
 

 
Next we have:
A WALK HOME ALONE
 

 
A Walk Home Alone details the experiences of a young woman, pregnant and alone, who lives in a city where women disappear after walking home alone. After a bleak beginning, things look up for our heroine as hope in her recent failed relationship rears it’s head, but alas, this is a horror short, so expect the F’n worst.
Tense, packed to the brim with unease, well paced and acted, and featuring an almost Lynchian (that’ll pop up again in a hot second) aesthetic, A Walk Home Alone is a real feel bad hit of a fright flick, and worked for me on all levels. But…as much as I enjoyed this one, what’s to come is even better!
 

 
Comin’ at ya next is:
PLACEBO
 

 
Placebo tells the (very) quick tale of a young woman who wishes she looked exactly like her favorite celebrity. Well surgery grants her that wish, and with it comes a nightmare.
Told against a minimalist setting with jarring imagery and dream aesthetics, Placebo was head and (severed) shoulders above the rest of the pictures in this selection, and even more Lynchian than the aforementioned A Walk Home Alone. I would actually love for this to be turned into a full on feature, but keep the weirdness in full effect, would ya?
 

 
Lastly we have:
SOMETHING SCARY
 

 
Something Scary is the greatest Youtube ‘Let’s Play’ that never existed. We follow Gamergurl as she plays through a a beta of the new gruesome game ‘Something Scary’. As she plays on she is contacted by the game’s developer who says the version she was sent wasn’t ready to be played. Horror biz ensues.
I really enjoyed this one, as it captures the aesthetics of both the jump scare laden games of today (think the Five Nights at Freddy’s series) and the mega-popular playthrough videos that saturate Youtube (right down to the insanely annoying host). This one could make a solid feature as well in my not-so-humble opinion.
 

 
All in all, a solid batch of mini-flicks to please your easy eyeballs!