It’s the fear of the unknown that often keeps people up at night, and the unknown is a factor all of the shorts in the “Shorts Spotlight: Bump in the Night” had.
Horror is personal. What makes you hide behind your hands might make someone else sigh with boredom. The great thing about this collection of shorts was that they were all incredibly different, with a mix of everything from zombies, to dead in-laws, to a strange box, so there was sure to be a short that made you feel a tingle down your spine.
That being said, there were a few that fell a little flat. A short only has so much time dedicated to explaining the premise, and often times it’s better to jump right into the story. But with convoluted narratives, it can leave audience members more confused than afraid when the screen goes black. Overdone premises and plots that come off more comical than scary were also the down fall of a few, especially when some had the dreaded cheap scream tactic: the jump scare.
There were a few that shined, the lingering thought of them able to stir up fear late into the night.
“Beyond Horizons,” directed by Stefan Winks, was a delightful short that left viewers with a feeling of unease. Alex, a young girl, runs away from her mother while exploring a town and stumbles upon an antique shop. Alex wanders inside, venturing deeper and deeper into the curious wares until she finds a miniature town. Only this town looks familiar, and so does the tiny figure with a yellow rain coat that looks exactly like her mother. It’s not until a strange man places a tiny figure that resembles Alex into the town that Alex realizes what a horrible decision it was to come into the shop.
This short was fun to watch. Reminiscent of episodes from “The Twilight Zone” and “Black Mirror,” it blended whimsy, mischief and horror into an enjoyable 13 minutes.
“Other Side of the Box,” directed by Caleb J. Phillips, would’ve been worth it to see just by itself. A couple receives a Christmas gift after an old friend they had a falling out with revisits. The kind gesture turns horrifying when the couple read the set of simple instructions left to them from the friend: don’t look away from the box. The face that appears from the depths of the box after the couple test the theory is more than a little unsettling, showing his face up to the bridge of his nose, wide eyes looking directly at you. What unfolds is nothing less than terrifying and had audience members holding their breath in fear.
With a unique and incredibly simple idea, Phillips gave just enough information for viewers to understand what was going on but still left a good part of it unknown to terrify. The great acting and clever ending only elevated this 15-minute piece and made it a clear audience favorite.
With a wide variety of shorts, this spotlight did provide a few scares, although some more long lasting than others. But deep into the night after viewing them, you’ll still be asking yourself one question: did you hear that?
Carly Shaw is a Copy Editor for District. She’s a writing major who will graduate in 2019.
