Welcome World of Death-amphetamine addicts to another installment of your favorite weekly horror series! On tonight’s episode, we have a beautiful stand-alone entry that’s too insanely fun to pass up.
A tried and true horror tradition is to see what happens when we creatively take an inanimate object and turn it evil. From more serious efforts like the killer automobile in Stephen King’s novel Christine and the possessed mirror in Mike Flanagan’s film Oculus, to more tongue-in-cheek fare like the titular nightshade fruit in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and a renegade tire in Rubber, horror revels in turning the mundane into the macabre.
Shaun Swift joins the brood by turning one of the most benign and boring locations into a scene of carnage. In “Permanent Press” a small town sheriff teams up with a devout priest to rid their town of a demon-possessed laundromat drying machine hell-bent on devouring local teens. This pitch-perfect short has all the trappings we’ve come to love from cheeky horror comedies – small town civil servants, horny teens getting their comeuppances, a “prepare for war” montage, ripped off appendages and, of course, wonderful cringe-worthy puns.
The acting and dialogue are serviceable. They delightfully move the story along, but take second fiddle to the real stars of the show – the concept, cinematography and effects. This crew must have had a laundry load of fun making this short and it shows in every frame of this raunchy 80’s throwback of a horror flick.
Shaun Swift and company clearly had a vision and, in my opinion, fired on all cylinders and succeeded. I would love to see what he comes up with given a feature script and a budget.
See you next time, World of Death Diehards!
– Ashton Golembo
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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