In my first post here is a review for Impact magazine about the Scary Shorts showcase of new horror talents at Mayhem Horror festival.
Considered the highlight of the Mayhem Horror Film Festival,
Scary Shorts exhibits some of the most creative and inventive horror talents
around. The one that sticks in the mind is the last one; Cargols! (Snails in Spanish). A comic horror short about a bunch of
Spanish adolescents who are attacked one night by a giant snail and a boy must
save his ex from the slime attack in Scott Pilgrim style heroics. Funny and
charming was also O Risco, a short
film about a line drawn in chalk on the street that if you cross blows your
head up. Short and sweet at 2 minutes and very funny it was my favourite. Him Indoors is also funny horror where
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’s Reece Shearsmith plays a loner with a
penchant for murder and going outdoors.
The longest short,
Familiar has a good concept about alter-egos and a subtle cancer metaphor, but
once again proves why length is an issue and the ending is anti-climactic. The
horror shorts I saw were good at keeping a good length and all had engrossing
plot and characters. When I watched some short film showcase for London Film
Schools in the BFi London Film Festival a month ago, they all looked good but weren’t
as original in story as these shorts and tended to be too long. The scariest
however is The Captured Bird which
while not having the best child actor, did build tremendous atmosphere and
scary creations towards the end. The best
effects are in Loom where the
incredible FX bring to life a visceral battle between a spider and it’s prey. While the worst was Ethereal Chrysalis which
was so bad it was almost becoming good; it’s a ten minute tale of guy in a
badly green screened hell. The climax is a face off between a flying
disembodied head and a crab that has emerged from a painting. Strange.
The showcase was an
enjoyable and entertaining experience and I can clearly see why it’s the
highlight of Mayhem.
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