Editorials
10 Chilling Horror Shorts to Binge Right Now
Not only are horror short films great for quick bursts of terror that don’t take much time away from busy schedules, but they’ve become a major platform for aspiring feature directors. Horror shorts don’t have to just be relegated to the month of October, either. While Hulu and Netflix both featured curated horror shorts in their overwhelming Halloween programming, there’s no wrong time to enjoy. Here are 10 great horror short films that elicit chills and thrills, and some that even make you laugh.
Mikus
Writer/directors Todd Spence and Zak White previously charmed with a spooky riff on nostalgic board game Mystery Date in Your Date is Here, but their latest horror short takes a very different approach to the horrors of childhood. In Mikus, Pete finds an old box of drawings and toys from his childhood. Pulling out a life-size cutout of his imaginary childhood friend prompts a huge grin, but that quickly fades when…well, you’ll see.
The Maiden
Director Michael Chaves is on the verge of becoming a big name in horror with The Curse of La Llorona and The Conjuring 3 on the way, and his horror short The Maiden is what put him on the map. The short takes a familiar haunted house setting and gives it a fresh spin with a unique perspective; a realtor that is willing to do what it takes to sell the house. Even with familiar tropes at play, that underlying dark humor bodes well for Chaves’ upcoming slate of horror.
Special Day
Director Teal Greyhavens and writer Nikolai von Keller turn a birthday party into the stuff of nightmares in Special Day. Emily’s 18th birthday celebration brings her family together for congratulations and cake, and a disturbing family secret too. This short has a great build up of tension, but more than that it delivers a unique mythology that leaves you wanting more.
Intruders
It didn’t take long for writer/director/producer Santiago Menghini’s latest horror short, Milk, to make its way through the film festival circuit before it was announced that James Wan would be producing a feature length adaptation. Before that was Intruders, Menchini’s stunning short that plays like an anthology connected by one sinister entity that wreaks havoc on a neighborhood. Menghini also handled some of the visual effects, further demonstrating this is one up and coming talent to keep our eyes on.
Whisper
This short is effective on the scares, but even more so if you happen to have an Echo or any smart speaker that’s behaved strangely before. It was recently announced that Amblin Partners was closing a deal to turn this short into a feature length film with its director, Julian Terry, to helm the movie. That’s not the only short of his to receive the feature length treatment either, as a full feature of his short They Hear It is also in the works.
Death Metal
Written and directed by Chris McInroy, this proves that not all horror shorts revolve around the scares. A metalhead receives a family heirloom in the form of a Satanic guitar, and immediately breaks all of the rules contingent upon its receipt. Its humor is only rivaled by the excessive gore and blood flow. So. Much. Blood. Play with the volume up.
Givertaker
This short by director Paul Gandersman and writer Peter S. Hall plays like a condensed episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? But a bit bleaker. An aspiring teen witch conducts a ritual to enact vengeance upon the girls she feels has wronged her. Horror teaches us many things, not least of which is to be careful what you wish for. Major bonus points for cool creature design.
Tickle Monster
Sometimes all it takes is 5 minutes to find effective horror in the most bizarre places. Tickle Monster, by writer/director Remi Weekes seems absolutely silly. Until it’s not. The less said the better about this one, except that it takes a crazy concept about tickling and turns it into something completely unexpected. It works.
Closet Space
By now everyone is familiar with Lights Out and the short that inspired it, but there’s a bunch of shorts that director David F. Sandberg filmed with his wife Lotta Losten that are worth bingeing. Closet Space changes up the effective jump scares for a little Twilight Zone inspired dark humor. Sandberg and Losten star as the couple that discovers a bizarre, microcosmic reality within the closet of their new apartment. The doll of the Lights Out apparition makes an appearance. Or two.
Overtime
This Australian short film by filmmakers Craig D. Foster and Emma McKenna also boasts creature effects by Odd Studio, who won an Oscar and BAFTA in 2016 for their outstanding special effects make-up in Mad Max: Fury Road. More importantly, this short is an absolute blast and feels like an episode of Tales from the Crypt. Poor Ralph is stuck working late at the office, but he really needs to make it home before nightfall if he wants to keep his secrets locked away.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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