Short Films Articles

Spoiler-Free Film Reviews: “The Activated Man,” “Escalation,” and “Ron” (Romford Horror Festival)

THE ACTIVATED MAN (U.S., 2023) Writer/director Nicholas Gyeney’s feature The Activated Man is an interesting variation on the “shadow people” subgenre. The film goes all-in on its exploration of psychic power and supernatural forces. Leaning...
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Spoiler-Free Short-Film Reviews: “The Foreboding: Fractured,” “Sour Milk,” and “Dolly Molly’s Playhouse” (Romford Horror Festival)

THE FOREBODING: FRACTURED (U.K., 2024) In director Kemal Yildrim’s short The Foreboding: Fractured, four university friends go camping in the woods, which is never a good idea when it comes to horror movie characters. Neither is telling scary...
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Spoiler-Free Short-Film Reviews: “Nian,” “Days of Spring,” Mosquito Lady,” and “A Dire Strait” (Final Girls Berlin Film Festival)

Following are reviews of four of the offerings that screened as part of the 2024 Final Girls Berlin Film Festival's Folk Horror short-film block. Nian  Short chiller Nian (U.S., 2023), finds a Chinese American schoolgirl (Lauren Mei in a delightful...
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Spoiler-Free Short-Film Reviews: “The Looming” and “Dream Creep” (Sundance Film Festival)

THE LOOMING  So often in horror films the elderly are portrayed as scary or creepy subjects, something to fear, run from, or even kill. Occasionally, they are treated with more reverence and respect than usual in fright-fare cinema, such as in...
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