Close Your Eyes and Hold ‘Em Tight!

Film is perhaps the greatest visual medium awarded to us by the Gods. For some of us, the moment the screen transports us to that magical world, we have this insatiable lust to soak in as much of the scenery as is possible. The German short film, Close Your Eyes and Hold ‘Em Tight, directed by Holger Frick delivers all the scares that one would expect coming from such an enlightening title. I implore you to heed the film’s title. It is not a suggestion, it is an instruction. We are first introduced to an alluring young woman mixing a concoction of pills and poisons and whatnot. After a moment or so, we the audience are soon made startlingly aware that she is not alone. A poor soul is tied to a chair just feet away from the woman, seemingly the test subject of whatever experiment she is conducting. Once the woman completes her mix, she assures her captive that soon, they will be together forever. As cliché as this sounds, the rather plainspoken plot of the film does not do it justice. I personally watched this late at night with my PC volume turned up and I am still struggling to come to terms with what a mistake that was. This short film managed to do in a few minutes what most movies cannot do in 2 hours. It delivered one of the most heart-stopping scares I have seen in a while. And the special effects were top notch given this film’s presumably low budget. To me, this is the shining example of why America should leave the horror genre to outside nations, they can take the meekest premise and have your heart beating out of your chest. If you can tolerate subtitles and do not mind potentially soiling yourself, I got just what you need right here. Now remember, close those eyes and hold them tight… tighter… now that’s better.

Muzzle

There are some secrets in life better off left entombed. Unfortunately, life sometimes has other plans. Bobby Browne’s short film Muzzle , tells the story of a strange ritual that sees a small child (Jonah Rosales) sacrificed to a beast known simply as The Wolf (Phillip J. Wheeler). It appears it is going to take more than a muzzle to silence this bad boy from howling. My main issue is with the plot of the film itself. The story itself was way too short, even by short film standards, and it was very difficult to follow. I would have loved to have possibly learned something about this Wolfman creature and why he needed sacrifices in the first place. I’m not even entirely sure if this wolf was a man turned beast or not? Initially I believed the man from the beginning was the one turning into the beast, but then later the same apparent man is seen attempting to burn the house down where the ritual took place. Overall, I’d say that in the case of this wolf, his howl is far worse than his actual bite. I was never a fan of werewolf movies and sadly, I do not see my opinion changing anytime soon.
– Joey Horist

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.

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