Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with a look at the SHORT FUSE block of 2015’s Fantastic Fest. Ideally I’m able to check out all the short film blocks, but the sad reality this year is I’m unable to attend the other two (Fantastic Shorts & Shorts With Legs) as they both screen at times where I’m unable to be at the fest. Short Fuse first screened on a Sunday, so I lucked into getting to check it out. I’m glad I did. While I watch shorts nightly for my own AICN column, they’re typically shorts that have completed their festival run and exist on Youtube/Vimeo. Seeing shorts in a movie theater as opposed to a computer screen will always add that level of “experience” you just don’t get when there’s a keyboard involved. It was incredibly refreshing to sit in a full theater surrounded by movie lovers, all ready for whatever the programmers had lined up. There’s not been a shorts block at any Fantastic Fest I’ve been to (all of them) that’s been anything less than quality film after quality film. (Kudos to the programmers). Okay, so let’s dig into some kickass shorts!
THE MILL AT CALDER’S END
Directed by Kevin McTurk
TRT: 14:00
The Mill At Calder's End - Official Teaser HD from Kevin McTurk on Vimeo.
“A young man returns to his childhood home intent on breaking a family curse.” This is an incredible period piece with puppets. McTurk’s created an incredibly moody world for his miniatures to play in. It’s dark, and plays like your favorite Edgar Allan Poe story. The level of detail in the miniature sets is incredible. The cracks in walls, the veiny vines dipping from the ceiling of a cave, the wooden floors… It’s beautifully designed and simply reserved when it comes to the faces of the puppets. In that, I mean with the used of puppets rather than actors, you could have the mouth moving or not. I’m sure there’s a technical call where not having their mouths moves is just easier, but here it helped add a stoic-ness, a somber denial of overdoing it with emoting facially. (The simplicity was appreciated.) The film contains large creature, creepy Victorian homes, death, peril, and more. The narrator also felt like a perfect casting. If you remember STRINGS from a few years back, mix that with the best of Guillermo Del Toro’s period pieces and you have an idea of what McTurk’s created. McTurk is obviously a talented filmmaker and hope to see more from him.
THE LISTING
Directed by Luke Jaden
TRT: 9:00
“An invisible malevolent entity impatiently waits for a family to haunt in this expertly wound and spooky jack-in-the-box of a horror short.” Jaden’s done a great job with handling jump scares and injecting some cool practical effects into nine minutes. It’s an enjoyable short that I felt could be just a smidge more direct, a little more to the point, with eliminating a few shots here and there that while look great, don’t really add anything to the story. I’d like to see this film again to see it from a different perspective, but it felt out of place when following up the previous short. I was very impressed with the special effects make up and would like to see what Jaden could do with a more fleshed out story.
OUT OF THE MOLD
Directed by Michel Moon
TRT: 12:00
“A gross-out, but poignant portrait of a relationship disintegrating at the prospect of having a child, in poetic tandem with the growth bathroom mold.” Well Moon, you’ve managed to show me something I’ve never seen before. The two lovers in the film happen to both be female, which according to the Q&A after the film, wasn’t always the case. Apparently up until the day of/before (Sorry, I just can’t recall) they started shooting, it was going to be one of the actresses playing opposite Michel (a male), but when Michel was met with two ladies who were both incredibly talented, he did the smart thing and took a step back, casting them as two lovers. Their sexual orientation isn’t exploited by any means here. It’s your standard couple attempting to have a baby. As you can tell from the still released with the film, there’s a mold baby in this utterly bizarre, but incredibly enjoyable film. Great effects on the baby itself. Great acting. Moon and company should be proud of themselves.
HOUSE OF STRAW
Directed by Kyle Bogart
TRT: 16:00
“It's almost 6 o'clock and Emma and Reed's marriage is coming apart at the seams, but more importantly: it's almost 6 o'clock. A novel supernatural slice of monstrous domestic drama containing exemplary emotional resonance.” Bogart delivered something I didn’t know I was in need of, a werewolf film with substance. He does a great job with balancing a dissolving marriage with what you would come to expect from a werewolf film. There’s a numbness involved, a lack of excitement, all circling around a guy who freaking transforms into a monster during a full moon. I absolutely think there’s a larger story here, something I believe is in the works and would love to see. There’s a richness of layers here with just a few actors and virtually one location. There is more to this story and I want to see it.
TRUST
Directed by Jerry Pyle
TRT: 2:00
“Two roommates engage in an escalating game of trust exercises.” With a running time of just two minutes, Pyle fills each moment with an incredible anxiety just below the surface level of stupidity. In other words, these two less than genius (“dipshits”) take turns seeing how far the other will go, with “trust” as the point of it all. The two leads were perfect! They both deadpanned these insanely outrageous scenarios, which just heightens the fun of it all. The film is relatively straight forward and will have you laughing within 5 seconds of being on screen and will ultimately leave you still laughing 5 seconds into the next film… Funny short that doesn’t where out its welcome, I ate it up.
PORTAL TO HELL
Directed by Vivieno Caldinell
TRT: 11:00
“Toilet clogged? Call the super. Hallway light needs replaced? Call the super. Got an infestation of Cthulhu's tentacles in the basement? Pray that Rowdy Roddy Piper is your super. Fortunately for the folks in this short, he is, and unfortunately for the elder god, he's all outta of bubblegum.” Dear Cthulhu is this one incredibly 80’s film! It’s such a sad reminder of how perfect Rowdy Roddy Piper could be when given a fun role and fun story. This is such a perfect role for him and I truly can’t imagine the film without him. It’s hilarious, clever, and full of HP Lovecraftian love. I’m dying to see this film as a feature and while the realities of life and death means we won’t get to see Rowdy Roddy Piper in what would be sure to be his PULP FICTION (Travolta reference), the filmmakers are still full steam ahead with the feature’s script – working out a way to incorporate a respectful way to handle Mr. Piper’s absence while still keeping in line with the spirit of the short. This is a must see for anyone in love with badass 80’s films, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN, THEM, and more… The film absolutely left me hungry for more. I can’t wait to see what Caldinelli eventually brings with the feature.
EL GIGANTE
Directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero
TRT: 13:00
“A desperate trek across the US/Mexico border condemns a man to a blood-stained ring of death at the behest of a cannibalistic family of luchador aficionados in this slick and sick grand guignol of guts and gore.” Gigi Saul Guerrero has made one kickass short. While I’d hope to see more of a story, the visuals were rich with and filled to the brim with bizarre characters I’d like to see more of. I full realize this was more of a proof of concept and consider me hooked. There’s a level of quality present here where, for example, just looking at the fake blood – there’s some dried blood, fresh blood, thick blood, thin blood… all applied to the actors in layers. Wonderful production design and incredibly cool costumes fill the frame for the entire 13 minutes. She’s created the perfect Sawyer family just south of the border. The hits are hard, the punches are felt, and I could swear to you I smelled what was on screen, just by looking at it. What a disturbing little world Gigi and co have created, one I’d like to glance at from afar almost voyeuristically as it’s such a brutal scenario, with so many layers that could lead to something truly terrifying.
SISTER HELL
Directed by Frederik Hana
TRT: 14 minutes
“A nun absconds from her monastery and embraces a more hedonistic lifestyle, but the sisters she left behind are soon hot on her heels in a bid to save her soul. Only it might not be her soul that needs saving.” The film Fredrik Hana brought to Fantastic Fest 2014, AUTUMN HARVEST absolutely floored me. He’s got a calm, cool, creepy vibe to his films that I can really get behind, so it’s not shocker that SISTER HELL was right up my alley. It’s filled with atmospheric dread, nicely shot, paced, and over all a disturbing treat.
THE BABYSITTER MURDERS
Directed by Ryan Spindell
TRT: 21:00
“A babysitter does epic battle with a dangerous psychotic in this slick and scary homage to slasher cinema.” I’m over the moon for this creepy slasher. Spindell has an incredible sense of pacing and knows when to really milk a fun moment. There’s a hell of a lot of “Oh shit” moments sprinkled in this gorgeously shot short. Again, solid production design with great attention to detail. Great acting. I’m really trying to non over sell this film, but this hands down was my favorite .It’s absolutely worth checking out. During the Q&A Spindell mentioned it is part of a larger anthology film which still needs to be shot. I’m so down to see that. With funny little sub plots sneaking in on televisions dressed into the set, I feel there’s more to that story, something that made me and the rest of the audience chuckle quite a bit, something I’d like to see more of. THE BABYSITTER MURDERS is absolutely a fresh take on a familiar scenario – something nearly impossible. Loved it.
So there are my quick thoughts. Take them however you feel like. I really got a kick out of this year's SHORT FUSE, so if you're in Austin and feel like checking out some incredible shorts... this block's for you.
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
