“Light reveals, dark conceals.”

Light and dark are basic, and primal. The contrast between the light and the dark arguably underpins the majority of the human psyche, coloring how we view the world through religion and philosophy; the symbol of the Yin/Yang being the most literal and visual, whereas Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions hold light as a symbol of divinity and dark as a sign of evil. Humans have used darkness as the metaphor for all the violent, evil, and immoral urges of the psyche for millennia before “Star Wars.”

The darkness is scary! Darkness hides the predators that stalk the night and hides our avenues of escape from those same predators. Darkness hides the dangers and imperfections of the environment itself, and when the darkness is hiding the predators, the escape route and the hazards along the way… well, that’s when you become prey!

Yet, the light isn’t always good. A danger unseen can be ignored or dismissed and, when brought into the light can be revealed as far worse than what the imagination conjures. Light itself can be a hazard, a glinting distraction, or a blinding beam can conceal just as much as the dark and looking in the wrong place at the wrong time also makes you prey.

The intersection of the two can be the most dangerous of all, the eye and mind require time to adjust and adapt to changing situations, and that moment of transition or distraction can, again, make you prey. In extreme cases the interplay of light and shadows can leave one helpless, whether through a trigger of irrational fear or genuine neurological dysfunction. Inaction or hesitation from fear, loss of perception or function makes you prey.

One doesn’t want to be prey.

And that brings us to this episode of World of Death with “Machine Baby” by producer, writer, director Sean Richard Budde. The video opens with a warning for the unfortunate photo-sensitive epileptics in the audience. To be blunt, the warning is no joke and it’s not fucking around. If you ARE a photo-sensitive epileptic, then we’ll see you next episode!

“Machine Baby” opens in surreal slow-motion, light strobing and flashing around the frame. Our protagonist is a photographer, an artist who manipulates light and shadow to create images. He has seen something light, bright and beautiful and his darker urges impel him on. His obsession leads him into the darkness of night, where a (literal) gleam of light attracts and distracts him.

And now he is prey.

He returns in the light of day, to look into the dark.

Again, he is prey.

“Machine Baby” plays a lot with the light and dark imagery, with scenes rapidly moving between brighter and darker locations. Light and dark will be contrasted in clothing, skin, speech and action. Obsession will become fear, fear will become confusion, confusion will become distraction…

Eventually, prey is eaten.

If this review seems a little more abstract than some, it’s to avoid the risk of spoilers. The middle act is a little easy to predict (yes, a short film still has three acts), and the title of the film might be a little on the nose, but there are a couple of surprises near the end that speak for themselves.

Just keep watching throughout the credits, you might be surprised by what you hear in the dark.

– Michael M. Miller

World of Death is the web series that fans of independent horror have been waiting for.  Featuring short horror films from all over the globe created by the largest variety of talent that a collection has ever been able to boast, WOD provides plenty of blood, guts, screams and laughs for all fans of the macabre.  And with episodes averaging around eight minutes in length, WOD is the perfect entertainment for a fan base constantly on the go.  Watch it anywhere, at any time, for FREE! New episodes premiere every Monday and Thursday at 10am CST.

WATCH HERE