Right now, on the Chilling App, there’s a film that’s caught the eye of many after its trailer made quite a splash on the internet, a horror retelling of The Wizard of Oz. The short film titled Gale Stay Away From Oz by Daniel Alexander Films directed by Daniel Alexander and Stars Chloë Crump as Emily Gale.
In Gale Stay Away From Oz, Emily is plagued by a recurring nightmare. Emily’s trying to make sense of these dreams as she’s grieving the loss of her mother. Emily then discovers she has a grandmother who is a successful author who wrote a book based on her dreams, and her grandmother’s name… Dorothy.
The film itself is quite short, around 28 minutes long, so I’m giving some leeway here when it comes to the pacing of the story, stiff acting, and cheap-looking practical effects that kind of ruin the scares. I feel comfortable saying that because here’s the thing. As a storyteller, I liked the story and the core idea around it and the short itself feels like it’s a proof of concept rather than a finished product. I’m saying this because many people I think are going to be disappointed seeing the short after seeing the trailer, both are completely different.
But there’s a silver lining if you’re discouraged, there is a feature-length film currently in pre-production and will continue the story. So here’s hoping that the full film will improve on some of the parts I’ve mentioned that were negative. To be honest, I’m looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds!
I give Gale Stay Away From Oz a 3.5 out of 5 and you can see it now on the Chilling App.
