Have You Been ALTERed Yet?
In a bit of a surprising twist, I have actually come to realise that short films tend to be way creepier than normal length horror films. I distinctly remember my days of watching TropFest in the park in my hometown and getting freaked out when a little boy goes through a car wash and gets rather fucked up.
I think there is something in the cinematography of a short film that makes the horror more effective. There is less time in the movie to build on the drama, so this needs to be done in faster more efficient ways. This gets you to the creepiness faster and is usually visually more appealing and dramatic.
This why the horror short film website Alter has to be one of the most astounding horror movie series I have ever seen. Focusing on featuring a wide collection of horror movie stories by lots of different film makers, producers, and actors, Alter explores the human condition through warped and uncanny perspectives.
Check out some of the epic Alter films available for a dose of the creeps:
Slut
When a small town country girl with low self-esteem tries to reinvent herself to impress the boys in her small Texas town she becomes the target of a murderous sociopath with a warped way of addressing beauty. Creepy and unfortunately realistic, "Slut" takes the slasher style genre to a chillingly real place.
Retch
This visceral horror rollercoaster showcases a disturbing turn to a young woman's illness as she begins a terrifying transformation complete with skin-peeling and hair pulling antics. Despite the horror of the affects of change, I must say this short horror film had a hilarious ending, proving that horror movies can go in a completely different direction.
Stucco
Omg it's Alison from The Umbrella Academy! This short film follows a woman with agoraphobia and a haunted past as she moves into a new home. While hanging a piece of art she discovers a hole in the wall that might lead to another room. As her mind races to learn what's on the other side of the wall she begins to unravel as the scars of her old relationships keep her trapped inside.
Not gonna lie, this film features one of the most weirdest scenes I have ever seen in a take on a dream sequence, but a glory hole is a glory hole right?
A Father's Day
I love a good zombie movie, and even more so when the zombies are displaying human like tendancies (such as the movie Warm Bodies). This short film follows a young zombie girl and an older zombie man who takes the daughter in as his own during the apocalypse. I gotta say - even for a dead man he's probably better than my other romantic potentials! Also, for a dead man I gotta say he's pretty cute!
Who needs Black Mirror anyway? For more unnerving films check out the Alter Youtube channel.
