Matthew Packman's Morbid Colors was a road-trip horror that blended the worlds of punk and vampire together into one messy whole. It was a story about two sisters (Devin and Myca) on a search for the person who was responsible for apparently turning one of them into a person that needed to drink blood to survive. Real Cool Time is the twenty five minute long short horror film sequel to that one, which also stands very well on its own two feet by being a fantastically paced horror that doesn't waste a second of its runtime.
Devin (Lanae Hyneman - Morbid Colors) is the lead musician in an up and coming band who has put herself into self imposed isolation after an incident during a tour in Europe, in which she viciously attacked a fellow musician. Desperate for a story to save her floundering career, music journalist Juliya (Alice Shen) has tracked her down to her dilapidated apartment one dark night, in order to prise an exclusive interview out of the woman. Ever since Devin's sister Myca (Kara Grey - Morbid Colors) died, Devin has began to experience unsettling blackouts and intrusive thoughts, with it felt that there is a link between the death of her sister and her new found urges, which she tries her best to warn the journalist about.
I watch a lot of horror films as part of writing on this blog, some stay in the memory, others fade away so swiftly that I can barely remember even having watch them. Morbid Colors was one of the former, I like a good road trip movie anyway, and I have always found the punk type feel works well in a horror setting. Going into Real Cool Time I wasn't sure how much of this would be related to that film, so having Hyneman return as Devin was a nice surprise, as was seeing Grey reprise her role in a way. I loved the framing here, the journalist turning up for an interview reminded me a lot of...well, Interview with the Vampire, helped with the thunderstorm raging outside that really created a Gothic feel. I liked how details are drip fed to the viewer that leads to further questions. It was a surprise to find out the fate of Myca, but that was a hook that made me want to stick around to find out the effects her fate had on Devin. In Morbid Colors Devin felt like a slave to her sister's desires, so having her here now on her own was fascinating. There is a more pronounced horror vibe here than the feature length movie, though again it isn't explicitly stated if what is said to be happening is actually real or not.
It leads to some great pacing, and a directing style that makes it seem like you are in the apartment with the characters, a lot of the shots here go on for minutes at a time, with the camera following characters in single unbroken shots. The interview itself has the camera slowly rotating around the two characters, while later scenes play out in real time. Typically when these scenes do end it is a definite break with a second or two of blackness before the next scene begins. The use of lighting here was tremendous, I especially liked how they include Myca within scenes despite her not actually being there in terms of the actual story. There was a moment that plays out in near darkness, with occasional flashes of light, it almost outstayed its welcome, but I think just about managed to achieve the goal it was used for.
Having a journalist who needed the story gave a decent get out clause for why Juliya wouldn't just flee at the first sign of danger. It also gave a acceptable reason for why she would be reading out Devin's journal aloud in one scene. At first I was wondering why she was doing that, before recalling that she was actually recording everything on a hidden dictaphone. I thought the way the story was told was very well done, with good back and forth between the two.
Having a journalist who needed the story gave a decent get out clause for why Juliya wouldn't just flee at the first sign of danger. It also gave a acceptable reason for why she would be reading out Devin's journal aloud in one scene. At first I was wondering why she was doing that, before recalling that she was actually recording everything on a hidden dictaphone. I thought the way the story was told was very well done, with good back and forth between the two.
I think even if you hadn't seen Morbid Colors you would still have a real cool time with Real Cool Time. As a short horror it was perfectly paced, and told a logical story, the horror elements worked very well, and it all wraps up in a satisfying way. I thought this was an masterful short, well worth a watch. Check out the film's Instagram page here, while the trailer for the short can be viewed on Vimeo. Real Cool Time is hoped to begin screening at festivals this summer.
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