A little girl thinks Christmas in New Zealand sucks. It’s too hot, there are mosquitoes everywhere, and not a snowflake in sight. But when Lisa wishes for a White Christmas one year, she gets a lot more than she bargained for…
A somewhat cute horror short about a girl who wants to experience a White Christmas, but gets it in a way she’ll soon regret…
Director: Peter Haynes, Nick Burridge
Country & year: Australia, 2016
Actors: Keira Christina, Hweiling Ow
Nina is a Russian woman, who lives together with her young daughter Sasha. She has left her abusive and alcoholic husband, but he still causes trouble for her by coming to her home drunk and demanding to come inside and see his daughter. All Nina wants is a new and better life for herself and Sasha, and after joining a typical “Russian brides” website (dating website for people looking for a Russian woman) she gets in contact with a reclusive billionaire from USA. After traveling abroad to meet her new man, she marries him very soon thereafter. However, she soon finds out that the seemingly nice man has other motives…and Nina eventually realizes that she’s put both herself and her daughter in a dangerous position.
Those typical “Russian Brides” dating websites is nothing new, and have existed for quite a while. No matter how you may want to label the women using such websites – “gold diggers” or simply someone wanting a better life for themselves – this movie portrays a woman belonging to the latter category. We understand Nina’s desperate need to move away from her stalking and abusive ex, and a rich and gentle elderly man from another country seems like her perfect escape. What could possibly go wrong, right? Well…
The story builds up rather nicely, and you see early on that Nina’s new husband has ulterior motives. Since his spacious mansion is also located in a very isolated area, you can feel the overwhelming amount of helplessness that she’s going through, in an other country and no means of escape. Nina and her daughter Sasha are surrounded by snow and nothingness, and solely dependent on her new husband that shows more and more signs of not necessarily having their well-being in his best interest.
The suspense in The Russian Bride builds towards what we surely expect to be a great reveal and a bloody climax (at least, based on the DVD cover which isn’t exactly toning down on its promise of a certain amount of blood ‘n gore). And we get both, although I would have to admit I think they could’ve stretched it even a bit further as blood ‘n gore goes. There’s room for a lot more than what was given us, but still makes it earn its “Gore” badge.
The Russian Bride is an okay horror thriller, although it may be worth noting that despite the bloody cover, this kind of stuff is held back for the climax and is not meant to be part of the main focus of the film (so gorehounds may want to sniff around elsewhere). Now, the film does come off as a bit predictable (we know the guy is up to something, we just don’t know what), and it also feels a bit inconsistent with a few things, like a certain paranormal entity that doesn’t really provide much to the film except sugarcoating the end a bit and functioning as a deus ex machina. However, it’s entertaining enough and well worth a watch, despite some flaws.
Director: Michael S. Ojeda
Country & year: USA, 2019
Actors: Corbin Bernsen, Oksana Orlan, Oksana Orlan, Lisa Goodman, Michael Robert Brandon, Alison Korman, Yefim Somin, Gregory O’Gallagher, Keenan Johnston, John Paul Brandt, Clement Valentine, Kenneth G. Beaudin, Maryanne Nagel, Blake Brown, Guido Den Broeder
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt6214468/
Mary takes over her friends babysitting job on Christmas Eve, but something more than yuletide spirit is loose in the house.
Here’s another Christmas horror short for you to enjoy! A cheesy yet fun short about a babysitter who will stay at a home where the owners are really into the holidays and have put up decorations all over the place. There’s one of the “decorations” that seems out of place, though…
Director: Henrique Couto
Country & year: USA, 2015
Actors: Julia Gomez, Alia Gabrielle Eckhardt, Erin R. Ryan, Adam Clevenger, Bradley Diehl
When her neighbor refuses to get into the Christmas spirit, a jolly citizen takes matters into her own hands.
We all know at least one “Grinch”, or a person filled with “humbug” when the holidays are kicking in. This weird and cheesy horror short takes the “humbug” to a different level, though, turning it into something that can be “exorcised” from your body in order to make you fully enjoy the Christmas holidays!
Director: Justin Lee, Matt Thiesen
Country & year: USA, 2016
Actors: Jessee Foudray, Milly Sanders
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt6391866/
A grieving young boy who loves to draw and build ferris wheels encounters strange creatures that turn his life upside down.
La Noria is a CG animated horror short by seasoned animator Carlos Baena (Pixar). This horror/fantasy short is in many ways more sad and emotional than scary, but does manage to build a certain creepy atmosphere with the monsters chasing the boy and the gloomy house he’s living in.
Director: Carlos Baena
Country & year: Spain, 2018
Voice Actors: Blanca Casellas, Jaume Ibars, Daniela Lucas
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt8804104/
Life is hard for Emma without the love of her life John. But after installing a new antique door and not being able to open it she starts hearing knocks coming from the other side of the door. Can this be the spirits of Emma’s love.
There Comes a Knocking is described as a proof of concept for a feature film by the same name. The short has good atmosphere and cinematography (and the Horror Ghouls love big, old creaky houses!). It is thus unfortunate that the ending is a bit lackluster, but since the creators are aiming for a full feature film and this is described as a “proof of concept”, it will be interesting to see how the full movie will eventually turn out! The creator’s YouTube channel also has a “Making of” video, in addition to lots of other videos regarding their filmmaking.
Director: Ryan Connolly
Country & year: USA, 2019
Actors: Stefanie Butler, Brett Davidson, Justin Robinson
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt10922922/
Alice Palmer is a sixteen year old girl, that drowns while swimming in the local dam. Her body is eventually recovered, and her grieving family then starts experiencing strange events. Thinking it’s got something to do with their recently deceased daughter, they seek the help of a psychic who starts digging into Alice’s past. He reveals that Alice used to have secrets, and that she was living a double life that her family wasn’t aware of. The family then tries to figure out a connection between her death and the experiences they’re going through.
While most horror movies featuring a ghost depicts them as either vengeful or harmful, Lake Mungo takes quite a different approach. Written and directed by Joel Anderson, this film is made in a faux documentary style (“mockumentary”). It shows how a grieving family tries to figure out if they are haunted by their deceased daughter/sister. Is her appearance on her brother’s photos a call from beyond the grave? Are the things they’re experiencing caused by Alice’s ghost, or is everything just a manifestation of their grief?
The documentary-style fits the movie rather well, giving it a much more realistic and eerie tone. There’s a few twists and turns throughout the story, making it a mystery filled with secrets, surprises and even lies, all eventually leading the family to a place called Lake Mungo (which is an actual dry lake in Australia) where Alice apparently was camping before she died. The pacing is a bit slow while it’s building towards more and more reveals, and there are some twists and turns that might seem unnecessary and even totally irrelevant to Alice’s demise. The slow pacing of the movie is likely to be perceived as tedious by some, but this is a film that does not rely on the effectiveness of only certain parts, but rather as a whole-package thing.
Lake Mungo is not a movie whose main goal is to make you jump in your seat, but instead wants to crawl under your skin. There are a few scenes here that actually got to me (and that’s something that happens very rarely!), and for me it was the whole idea of loss and grief mixed with the supernatural goings-on that got to me. It was for the most part a very melancholic and sad movie (if Mr. Ghööl had a “Sad” badge, it would fit well here). It isn’t a movie with huge scares and shocking moments, but it’s unsettling and different. Lake Mungo is an exploration into grief and loss and the thought of maybe being haunted by a loved one, and your ability to connect with such experiences will probably have a lot to say on how you perceive this film.
Director: Joel Anderson
Country & year: Australia, 2008
Actors: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Talia Zucker, Tania Lentini, Cameron Strachan, Judith Roberts, Robin Cuming, Marcus Costello, Chloe Armstrong, Carole Patullo, John Dunn, Laurie Dunn, Kirsty McDonald, James Lawson
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt0816556/
An android babysitter starts malfunctioning, which causes it to become dangerous. The mother has no other choice than to replace it…but the android is intent on staying with the family.
Ghost Machine is a Korean horror short, which is one of the installments in Horror Stories III. It’s a science-fiction horror story dealing with the subject of how robots and artificial intelligence may turn dangerous if they stop working as intended…
Director: Kim Gok
Country & year: South-Korea, 2016
Actors: Hong Eun-hee, Lee Jae-in, Park Solomon
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt6449358/
A young woman Skyping with her long distance boyfriend late one night, realizes that an ancient evil presence may have been unleashed upon her.
Wicken is a horror short film by Faisal Hashmi, who also made Sleight. While Wicken could have benefited from more playtime to delve deeper into the mythology and story behind the curse, and thus bring the character’s emotions more into focus upon making their decisions, it’s still an effective albeit simple short.
Director: Faisal Hashmi
Country & year: United Arab Emirates, 2019
Actors: Nour Safieh, Stuart Richard, Hanna Liatsko, Sally Mourad
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt10037604/
Two girls are moving out after Sarah’s mother has passed away. In the clearing they exploit an old Polaroid camera possessed by a dark past.
Polaroid is a Norwegian horror short, directed by Lars Klevberg (who recently made a name for himself with the remake of Child’s Play). Polaroid was actually made into a full-feature film which was originally set to be released in 2017, but was delayed due to the Weinstein Company bankruptcy. Thus it was released in 2019 instead. This horror short, however, was made in 2015.
Director: Lars Klevberg
Country & year: Norway, 2015
Actors: Annika Witt, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Anne Cloetta
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt3956872/
