Short Review: The Silent Lay Steady (2020) by Travis Laidlaw


A woman finds herself alone with the deceased after a funeral in her 1860's farmhouse.

Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable and chilling effort. It works best as a Gothic chamber piece, utilizing the eerie old-school manor where it's shot quite effectively for plenty of tension. AS well, the darkness and creaking noises from the shadows play with the sense, giving hints that someone or something might be there.

This is all well and good at hiding how nothing really happens here. There's the suggestion of something but beyond that, we aren't given anything definitive as the entirety seems to consist of her wandering around calling out for answers at every creak and groan heard. The ending twist makes no sense and doesn't tie into anything shown before, making it feel slightly hampered by the short-film format.

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