octOber: Part 2 (2018) - Short Horror Film Review

In June I was knocked off my feet by the stunning septeMber (written and directed by Mason C. McDonald) which was the first short film in a series that is to span seven parts. From the naming conventions so far I assume each part will take place in a different month as part two is titled octOber. The first film ended on a bit of a cliffhanger and so I was surprised that this one takes place some time later, with this again ending on a cliffhanger it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Two teenage friends; Alex (Brandon Allison) and Jeremy (Adrian Beck) have skipped school as Alex has something important he needs to discuss. Several years back his sister went missing and due to the police calling off the investigation he saw it to himself to try and find her. By luck he has managed to locate the man he believes responsible for killing her; Mr Wittman (Jeff Payne who also edited this short). Together the friends approach his property, Alex has lost faith in the authorities and so intends to give out his own justice...

 I mentioned in my review of part one that I was concerned that having dialogue could break the wonderful spell that the combination of great directing and editing conjured up, and in a way it did slightly. Having dialogue is hardly a surprise as I couldn't envision a seven part series being totally silent. To be fair the dialogue helps fill in some of the missing puzzle pieces, such as the reveal of the serial killer's name, and just what he does in the town. I did find some of the language used to be a bit formal at times, there was a nice vibe towards the two friends though. The film is focussed on Alex and sadly I didn't find him to be that interesting a character, mainly due to how the character acts. I get that he has no faith in the police, I also appreciate there would not be much of a film he had just called them but I found some of his actions to be pretty baffling. Saying that other moments he really shines, a scene in the house felt believable with his 'fight or flight' instincts kicking in.

The serial killer was fantastic once again, there are some really freaky shots of him, but octOber is not about him so much as Alex and so he doesn't get much screen time. The contrast between septeMber where he was the lead and this means he comes across as far more of a movie slasher type figure which leads to some cool moments. The editing and directing was just fantastic once again, my favourite part being a close up of a character legs running down a railway track, coupled with the music this was perfection. I also just loved the crazy opening shot that then goes away unexplained to then show up later with context added. With the plot it was clever how this tied into the first film, it adds in a new angle to the events of that one. It was also awesome to see the end credits looked a lot better this time around, that being my only complaint with the first short.

While not quite reaching the majesty of part one this was nonetheless another great film that was a real joy to watch. I fail to see how the rest of the films in the series can be bad as McDonald is an amazing director, Payne is an enthralling actor, and all the shorts are sure to be full of stunning cinematography.

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septeMber: Part 1 (2018) - Short Horror Film/Episode Review

septeMber is a new short horror film/episode from Dark Red; the creators of the three part fan fiction film Michael Myers Versus Jason Voorhees. I mentioned that short back in January (here), truth be told I wasn't blown away by that, it was high quality but it just didn't resonate with me. So going into septeMber my expectations were not the highest.

An innocuous looking man (Jeff Payne) arrives home and gets what very much looks like a body out the back of his vehicle. It soon becomes apparent this man is a serial killer and we get to see his ritual in the things he does post-kill. However his peaceful evening is ruined when it appears that someone may be in the house with him...

I absolutely loved this, to say I was blown away isn't an exaggeration at all. The cinematography is beautiful, it has a tendency to focus on small objects such as a chess board, or a pot of jam and just frame it in such a stunning way. There wasn't a single shot here that felt wasted, the inserts helped give us insight into the sort of man the killer is, the angles and perspectives bring this character to life without him needing to even speak. Payne is fantastic here, this is the first episode in a seven part series and I am almost afraid that any dialogue will break the mesmerising spell that this first film conjured. It is just the little moments that delight, the killer covered in sweat after lugging a body to his workshop, the spray of water that gets on his glasses when he leans in to turn off the shower, hell, there is even a shot that is a close up of a pair of glasses with details playing out in the reflection on one of the lenses - this is such an attractive piece of film making by writer and director Mason McDonald with some great editing by Tabitha McDonald. There has been a lot of love and care put into every aspect of this, the song that the killer plays was even created especially for septeMber by Dustin Miller which makes sense when you listen to how appropriate the lyrics were.

Usually this would be the point I would balance out the pros with the cons but there really are not many in this ten minute piece to comment on. I would say that the black screen with the spidery red text looked a bit basic in comparison to the film itself, and also maybe there were a little too many fixed angle shots used, the camera never really gets an opportunity to move around too much. This does give an impression of being in hiding, with the man frequently being filmed looming above adding to this feeling of dominance the character had. I guess you could also say that it wears its inspirations pretty obviously at times, such as a shot of blood going down a plug hole that was a homage to Psycho. I am a little bit stunned with just how good this first episode was, and how elevated it is from my tempered expectations. Part 1 of septeMber is currently free to watch on YouTube, I suggest you give it a watch and witness art in motion.

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The Witching Season Episode 3: Not Alone (2016) - Short Horror Film Review

Not Alone is the latest episode in The Witching Season, which as I have mentioned before is a web based anthology show of horror shorts that all take place around Halloween. What I love about the show is that every episode is based around a different sub genre of horror. With Killer on the Loose we had a slasher, with Princess we had a creepy doll piece, and now with the third episode we get one involving aliens.

A man is woken up in the middle of the night and is shocked to see a strange slender creature by his bedroom door. He attacks this figure only to find out his mind was just playing tricks on him and there was nothing there, so he decides to head back to sleep...

The Witching Season Episode 2: Princess (2015) - Short Horror Film Review

I first mentioned The Witching Season a few posts back, it is a free horror anthology web series that is available to watch on YouTube. The first episode titled Killer on the Loose was a homage to old slasher films, second episode Princess (written, edited, and directed by James Morris) is about a creepy doll.

A single mother and her young daughter move into a new house, later that day the girl hears a strange noise in the basement, investigating she discovers a creepy rabbit doll that she names Princess and decides to keep. Soon some pretty strange things start to happen which the mum puts down to her child acting up, but could it be the result of something far more horrifying?

The Witching Season Episode 1: Killer on the Loose (2015) - Short Horror Film Review

I first heard of this back in January of this year, as always it has taken me until now to get around to seeing it. The Witching Season is a free anthology of short horror films that is available to watch on YouTube. All the short films in the series are based around Halloween. So far there have been three episodes, one released every few months, the first of which was Killer on the Loose.

As the title suggests in this first short there is a killer on the loose, one that is pursuing a frightened young woman. She takes refuge in a random house but the masked maniac follows her, arming herself with a kitchen knife she hides and hopes for the best, but is everything as it really seems?