Other Side of the Box-
Trying to make a dinner together, a couple receives a strange box on their doorstep from a friend and try to get to the bottom of the gift.
This is a solid and enjoyable enough effort. The lovey-dovey nature of their relationship and the holiday setting gives this a warm entry point to what happens later when they find the strange contents within the box and what it stands for. These scenes are incredibly creepy with the intense eyes staring directly at them which is slowly and surely built up to the slow realization about the ownership of the box and it’s contents. With a fantastic ending that’s incredibly chilling and serves as a fine twist to the matter at hand, there’s quite a lot to like here.
Grief-
Trying to move past a terrible tragedy, a married couple trying to get themselves through the grief meet a stranger at their house with sinister motives.
This one was a decent enough effort. Getting right to the point with the symptoms of their grief and instability, continually bringing up the accident that put them into this situation and serving to get the backstory out of the way so that the stranger’s arrival and creepy behavior that’s unnerving enough to really make for a creepy premise. However, this stumbles somewhat in the later half with a reliance on jump-scare visuals without much rational thought as to their integration or purpose making this shocking and traumatic yet somewhat confusing at the same time.
The Burden-
Arriving at his family home, a man and his girlfriend start to celebrate a family gathering together
This was a somewhat decent enough effort. The misdirect with the initial horror story is a fine lighthearted way to get this going, and while the interactions with the two are certainly fun enough in the meantime, very little of it really comes off as frightening due to the constant series of misdirects that push the tension off until later on. By the time the final reveal occurs, the atmosphere has lessened to the point of it failing to be as impactful as it should’ve been and it never really makes much sense regarding the title, but it’s still a wholly watchable effort overall.
Suicide by Sunlight-
Working in a metropolitan hospital, a black vampire tries to overcome the social stigmas of her condition long enough to get her kids back from their father.
This was a rather fun segment. Thankfully it’s not too heavy-handed with the political commentary by playing the race card for the vampires against the regular citizens, as instead this dives into some really intriguing storylines to ground this one in a more realistic environment. The vampire action is also short and to the point, and with the emotional resonances in the storyline give this one some heartfelt remnants demonstrated how all vampires can have a conscious. All told, there’s a lot to like here.
The Boogeywoman-
While at a roller-rink with her friends, a young teen’s embarrassment over her first period soon gives way to terror when a local urban legend proves true.
For the most part, there was quite a lot to like here. The innocence of the initial incident in the bathroom and the ensuing meetup on the dance floor quickly turns sour by uttering the urban legend and its ties to the events at hand. That adds some enjoyment into the later half where it starts to get somewhat chilling and tense with the walk home and confronting the creature. Despite the insistence on shoehorning a horror twist at the end, this has to be inferred with the ack of clear dialog to resolve everything but overall it’s not a detriment due to the rest of the short holding it up.
This retrospective ran as part of our coverage of the 2019 edition of the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Click below to see more of our coverage:
Comments
Post a Comment