Now Scream This: 10 Great Horror Shorts To Watch This Halloween
(Welcome toNow Scream This, a column where horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato tell you what scary, spooky, and spine-tingling movies are streaming and where you can watch them.)Matt:Iknow what you’re thinking. “Now Scream This” does Halloween. Another streaming horror recommendation column highlights all the genre options already pointed out on every other entertainment website across the web-o-sphere. Don’t get me wrong! Shudder is crushing their October content drops with titles likeScare MeandThe Mortuary Collection. Netflix is pumping out two new releases a week, one of which,Vampires Vs. The Bronx, deserves way more love. That said? We’re focusing our spooky-scary column on an even more underserved medium: horror shorts.Chris:I love a good short horror film. There’s something fun about a quick, concise attempt at creating something scary that I just can’t resist, and I know I’m not alone. After all, Hollywood seems to be constantly mining short films for features.Lights Out,Saw,Mama, and more all originated as shorts. So while we usually attempt to highlight features around these parts, we’ve decided to give you a treat for Halloween season and gather up some horror shorts you can watch right now. Right here. You don’t even have to click off the page! In fact, you shouldneverclick off the page. Stay here forever. Click on some ads. Happy Halloween!
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Matt:RyanDenmark’sPlushis everything I want in a horror-comedy about a killer teddy bear. Vincent’s job is to protect his owner’s home while she’s in the office, at Spellbound Toys, and he’s a very protective softie. Enter a burglar who begins ransacking the bedroom where Vincent waits each day, and his claws-out fight against the supernatural plaything. The altercation runs a thick Joe Dante vibe, in the way Vincent is manipulated through Mogwai-esque verbal cues and adorably vicious puppetry. Then, hilariously, Vincent has to clean up the bloody mess once the homeowner returns with a date. I don’t care how sharp Vincent’s teeth are; I JUST WANNA HUG HIM.
Matt:BeforeErlingur Óttar ThoroddsendirectedRiftand wrote IntoThe Dark’s Midnight Kissthere wasChild Eater. A nasty short film introduction of “Robert Bowery,” this proclaimed eater of children, then expanded into Mr. Thoroddsen’s feature debut. We’ll focus here on the short, which blew my socks off at 2012’s New York City Horror Film Festival. It’s so confident, so dreadful, and haunting enough to position Bowery as a bold genre creeper. Also, fun fact, the film was produced by Collider’s own Perri Nemiroff, and hilariously caused an introduction to one of my most cherished industry friendships. I promise, I reviewed the short before any bias could formulate. Bowery is an instant menace, and yeah, there’s no shying away from the short’s foreshadowing title. Another bedtime story with only nightmares in mind.
Matt:Hi.It’s me: Matt Donato, the horror-comedy thumper. I’m the one bringing you recommendations likeFrank Sabatella’sNight Of The Pumpkin, which, coincidentally, carries aNight Of the Demonsvibe. Aggro dudebros, through a graveyard ritual, summon a demon that possesses a carved Jack-O-Lantern. You’re here for the flesh-tearing, intestine-chewing, pulp-spewing gore as said pumpkin monster chews its way through families, fornicating campers, and trick ‘r treaters. “IT ATE MY PARENTS, A PUMPKIN,” is one of the first lines after the credits finish, in case I needed to set the tone further. A bit likeThankskilling, but for Halloween. With bazookas. And I’m almost positive acclaimed horror journalist Michael Gingold gets eaten somewhere in here? It’s got ‘splosions, orange Halloween lighting tints, and absurd practical effects. Plus its own theme song!
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Matt:Fromdirector, writer, and editorBrian Karl Rosenthalcomes the Marvel horror story so many fans have demanded for eons. The Marvel Zombies story infects the MCU’s mightiest with an undead disease, and in this case, only Ash Williams and his steel chin can overpower the turned superheroes. I mean, yes, I’ve seen better Bruce Campbell impressions on convention floors. That said? We get zombified Wolverine ripping Peter Parker’s eye from its socket,Evil Deadnods that replicate Sam Raimi’s more slapstick notes, and a replacement chainsaw hand in the form of Iron Man’s blaster. I might love the idea more than execution in parts, but that’s all fine and dandy when the dust settles. Groovy.
Matt:Time and time again,Jordan Downeyhas proven himself a more than capable filmmaker on micro budgets.The Head Hunteris a $30K masterpiece, and thisCritters"fan film" oozes more cinematic qualifications than even some franchise sequels. It’s a compact narrative about an extraterrestrial assassin sent to exterminate Crite invaders on Earth, specifically a standoff with one rolly-polly foe left in some vacation cabin. Visual effects bring to life this Predator-esque bounty hunter, and the puppetry is on-par with anything I’ve seen in a Critter film. Downey deserves his shot at a big-budget feature, if only because I can’t imagine what the penny-saver can do with limitless funds.
Chris:Saltcomes fromRob Savage, director of the buzzy Shudder movieHost.Saltmay be shorter, but there’s a lot going on here, asAlice Lowe(director and star ofPrevenge) plays a mother trying to protect her child from a demonic presence. The only guard against the demon is a ring of salt, and while you might think that may be easy to maintain, you’d be wrong. At a little over 2 minutes, Savage packs a punch withSaltright from the jump and never lets up.
Chris:I wasnota fan ofMichael Chaves’ Conjuring Universe movieThe Curse of La Llorona. But Ilovehis clever shortThe Maiden. This is a brilliantly staged little creeper about a real estate agent (Alia Raelynn) who goes to great lengths to sell a huge, haunted mansion. While preparing the house, the agent makes sure to hide any evidence of ghosts – she wants to make that sale, after all. The creepy elements here – the black-eyed old lady ghost; the hands that come up out of a bucket of dirty water; the overall ominous atmosphere – are pitch-perfect. Chaves is directing the nextConjuringsequel, and I hope it’s more like this thanLa Llorona.
Chris: David F. Sandberghas become the king of economically made short horror movies. He’s made a ton of them in his house with wife Lotta Losten, and one of those shorts wasLights Out, which was later turned into a feature.Picturedfollows the standard Sandberg formula: Losten plays a woman alone in a house and something creepy happens to her. In this case, the creepy element involves a photo of an ominous woman – a woman who keeps managing to move around in her frame when Losten isn’t looking. It builds towards a great little finale that’s not quite as predictable as you might think.
Chris:Before Mike Flanagan madeOculushe made this –Oculus Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan(the title is being cheeky; there are no chapters 1 or 2). Much like the feature,Oculusis about a haunted mirror that has the power to kill. The short has a character documenting their investigation of the mirror – an idea that carries over into the feature. If you’ve seen the feature adaptation you’ll notice much of the dialogue here is identical. This is the longest film on the list – over 30 minutes – but it’s worth it. You can see the early signs of Flanagan’s exceptional skills in every frame.
Chris:Written and directed byKarl Mueller,Widowis probably my favorite horror short film. At the very least, it’s the one I think about the most. I love the premise – a wealthy woman hires a pair of technologically advanced psychics to try to contact her dead husband. And I love the “world building” going on here –Widownever goes into specifics about how the psychics are able to use their tech to contact the dead, and it doesn’t have to. We buy into what’s being sold here because it justfeelsright. It also feels creepy as hell.
