Every so often a film will turn up out of nowhere and blow you away, for me Dirty Jersey is that film. This short horror was directed and co-written by David Keane in his directorial debut and clocks in at around thirty seven minutes, it is just fantastic throughout.
A young boy, Chester (Lincoln Simcox) accidentally knocks himself out while playing in the woods near his remote home, he awakens to see a huge winged creature standing over him.
Around the same time, Nate (Casey Donnelly - Hayride to Hell) has decided to surprise his girlfriend Margret (Amanda Fraass - The Killer Clown Meets the Candy Man) by gifting her a quad-bike. Along with his best friend, mechanic Seth (Sean Barnes), they take her out to the Pine Barrens so that she can ride it. None of this is to her liking, but making an effort she goes along with their plans. With it getting late, Margret insists on being taken home, and after an argument with Nate, she heads off with Seth. So begins a most terrifying and bloody night for all three, where no one can be trusted.
I loved this from the start to the end, it was a nice surprise to see this just getting more and more enjoyable as it went on. The prologue featuring Chester dressed as a rabbit creature as he wanders the woods was decent enough, with it initially seeming hard to work out how his sequence would fit into the larger picture. The main part of the film is the three friends adventures out at the Pine Barrens. I liked how poorly Nate and Margret seemed to get on, it made things seem that little bit more real than a stereotypical couple deeply in love. I also liked how it wasn't clear what direction the horror was going to come from, I can't really say any more for fear of spoiling the events here, needless to say there were a few red herrings as to where the true horror would emerge.
There were two key parts to Dirty Jersey that really elevated this above other films of its type. It can hardly be called original to have a synth soundtrack that sounds like it was ripped out of the eighties, nonetheless, this soundtrack was amazing, I think probably my favourite thing about this short as a whole. Also great were the very bloody practical effects, coincidentally this is the second film I have watched today (at the time of typing) in which someone's head is ripped right open! There is plenty of blood to be found here, and while the effects don't look super realistic, the fact they are practical (outside of some possible CG blood spurts) is a huge bonus. From its beginnings I really didn't expect so much bloodshed as we get treated to in the film's finale.
Throughout Dirty Jersey had a professional look to its indie filmmaking. I always love horror films inspired by the eighties, and this one did not disappoint. With a story that I could never tell exactly where it was heading, a sublime soundtrack, interesting characters and those practical special effects, this had everyone I was looking for, wrapped up in a short run time that still felt like it was able to tell its tale without rushing. Dirty Jersey is available to watch for free on YouTube, so check it out!
SCORE:
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