Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with this week's lovely selection of interesting shorts created and submitted by fellow AICN readers. I tend to lean on variety and this week is no different - as you can tell from the article's title. We've got an assortment of shorts that trek across a wide landscape of genre fun, from a war drama to a gnarly Christmas tale to an informative cartoon that will expand your mind. Point is, strap in - this is going to be one hell of a fun ride. Let's hop on in shall we?
Go grab yourself some popcorn, lock your kids in a closet, kill the lights, relax and check out this little weekly film fest we've got ourselves here:
M IS FOR MERRY CHRISTMAS
TRT: 3:10
To kick this shindig off right we've got yet another entry into the ABCs OF DEATH "M" competition. From Joe Staszkiewicz, we've got a Christmas short that oddly feels right at home here in the middle of October. Fun fact, it was shot in Sherwood Forest (Yep, *that Sherwood Forst). "The film revolves around Krampus, Santa Claus's evil counterpart, who has the job of capturing and torturing the naughty children every Christmas. Krampus, in true British fashion is miserable, fed up with his life and sick of getting no appreciation despite doing a job that's important for Christmas to work efficiently. Along with his best friend, a grown up who he once captured as a child for companionship, Krampus decides to change things so that he can finally be the good guy." If you like what you see, go behind the scenes here and see how Joe and his crew brought Krampus to life!
M is for Merry Christmas from Holomax on Vimeo.
Shellshock
TRT:10:56
Our next short comes compliments of director John Corcoran and producer Jean Igoe. "Ireland, 1923. A young man, Padraig, returns home after having served in the British Army during World War One. He struggles to readjust to civilian life, his experiences of the trenches never far from his mind." With great performances, clean camera work, and a continuity with remaining in the correct time period - this is quite the debut for Mr. Corcoran. Keep them coming, John!
Deadly Garden
TRT: 28:26
Here we have a nearly 30 minute short from SS alum Teppei Ando. It's a little bit on the long side, but it's backed with pure gumption and elbow grease. "Based on the life of Dorothea Puente, Deadly Garden is a Horror/Dark Comedy set in the 1980s. When 2 police officers arrive at 1418 F Street, in search of a missing person, they unearth 4 decades worth of secrets buried there. The seemingly kind old woman who runs the boarding house seems to have an answer for every question asked. But when people from her past begin to talk the enigmatic woman becomes the most feared person in town." Be sure to hit up Teppei's site for more info on the guy!
A DECISION
TRT: 13:10
"A DECISION is the story of Robert Saddler, a reluctant hitman who has been drawn into a sinister and dark game beyond his control. He recounts his story to a young comatose girl, Annabelle, who may very well be his next victim..." Darren Westwood's short is quick, precise, and to the point - just like the characters in his film. Go check out his website!
BONUS - ELITE COMICS: OCTOBER SPOT
TRT: 00:30
Another rarity, a literal commercial. From our pal David Matheny we get a fun little Halloween spot. It's absolutely more of a visual piece than a short, but I thought it was fun and felt like giving it some love. Hopefully you folks get a kick out of it as well.
ELITE COMICS: OCTOBER SPOT from David Matheny on Vimeo.
That's all folks. I'll see you guys and gals next week!
Supernatural Goodness (6/30/12)
SciFi Explosions With Aliens (7/14/12)
Dark Comedy Extravaganza (9/8/12)
Goofy Comedy Laughsplosion (10/6/12)
Genre Basket of Awesome (12/1/12)
Horror-ish Creepfest (12/22/12)
Assorted Bits of Genre (2/16/13)
Laughter in Film Form (3/9/13)
The Sphere; Montauk; Meth; Anamnesis (3/30/13)
Stan Lee Parkour; Mediating Kidnapper; Red; Bullet Head; Shadow (4/6/13)
Carrot & Stick; Queen of Hearts; Paintwork; Trophy Wife; BFC: Big F*ckin Chicken (4/13/13)
Victorian Undead; The Glitch; Saw Misgivings; Dave Vs. Death (4/20/13)
Gratitude; Boo!; Game of Dim(Wits); How I Met Your Father (4/27/13)
Allure; Titans of Newark; The Knightswoon; The Magic Box (5/4/13)
Don't Move; Experimental; Blackout; Birthday Boys (5/11/13)
Abe; Judge Minty; Robto; The Bubble (5/18/13)
Unsaid; Time; Spare The Bullets Not His Life; The Forge; The Mortician (5/25/13)
Ice Cream; Giraffic Park; The Spell Book; Pop; Chris' Wire (6/1/13)
The Tea Party; Dawn; The Earth Rejects Him; Hangin; Faces: Why Do We Have Them? (6/8/13)
Dead-Funny; Dead Reel; Buckles; So Dark; Secret Identity (6/15/13)
A Killer Surprise; Hitchcock Assembled; The Arsehole Gene; Kill Him; Only in Dreams (6/29/13)
Mirage; Laundry Night; Kiss; Mathilda (7/6/13)
Machete Get Ready; En Passant; Eg Anda; Fade To Black; Shocker (7/13/13)
PostHuman; The Flying Man; Departure; Lucy; Nemesis (7/20/13)
I shot JFK; List; Ten Thousand Days; Sick Day; Bolero (7/27/13)
I'm Such a Carrie; Motherland; Mutt; Falling Apart; Save The Kiss (8/3/13)
The Olympians; Land Of Giants; Genesis; Melissa!; Vaccine; Promotion (8/10/13)
The Video Dating Tape of Desmondo Ray, Aged 33 & 3/4; White With Red; Sinkhole; The Autumn Girl; Melt; Ghost Train (trailer) (8/24/13)
Nitro Warriors 2; Vindicate; Ashtray; Three Legged Horses (8/31/13)
Sleep Walk; Star Drunk; Obsolescence In Love; Sunisoid (9/7/13)
Neon Killer; Future Duck; It Felt Good To Have This Pain; The Golden Age; Minotaur (9/14/13)
The Troll; Boats; Lucy; Until The End; We Are Brothers (9/28/13)
Battle For Employment; Mapper; Deep Red Dandelions; Applications; Trailer: The Fuzz (10/12/13)
If you have a short and think it belongs here or are on the fence about whether to send it in, please do send it in - I'd love to see what you've put together. I've already seen hundreds of fresh new filmmakers' shorts and like any good addict, I need more!
Shoot me an email at "Mike@aintitcool.com"
In the subject line include:
“SHORTS” + “Your film’s name” + “The film’s genre”
Then, in the body of the email, please include a synopsis of the film and any contact information you might think I need or would want published. The more info you send my way, the more info there is to put with your short.
Please don’t feel the need to submit multiple times.
Remember, the filmmakers might still be in the audience, so feel free to share your thoughts in Talkbacks below. (JUST DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE). I picked them, so you know I think highly of all of these, but how about you fine folks? How'd you like 'em?
BY THE WAY: If you've had a short featured here, that means that I personally am a fan of your work, so feel free to shoot me any kind of news on new projects/films/whatever. I can't say I'll be able to help or in what capacity, but I'm interested in your work and am always down to see more! (Keep making cool stuff, everyone!)
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
