Reviewer Rob Deb reviews the best of Frightfest’s 2022 short films.
Reviews by Rob Deb. Read more of Rob’s reviews here.
With the first selection of horror shorts, Frightfest has shown a great sense of curation. The first stream has an International theme and gives a real sense of mature horror and sensibilities, coupled with judiciously placed creature features and jump scares that make for a dense two hours with 50 shades of shivers. It would be impossible to give each one justice but here are some high marks within the first batch I urge you to try and seek out.
Cicada (Directed by Yoon Daewoen)
The Pitch: Cicada tells the story of a transgender sex worker who works on Sowol-gil on Mount Namsan. The film follows one strange night in the protagonist's life and likens the experience to that of a cicada ripping out of its shell to fully become an adult.
Coming second at Cannes and with a high degree of sensitivity and skill, this short proves how some of the biggest horrors can be based in reality and one you may have never considered is real to other people. In Cicada, the culture of a street-walking sex worker converges with the danger inherent in their work. It's a suspenseful and ambiguous film leaving you asking many questions you never knew you had – and at least attempting to answer them.
Guts (Directed by Chris Mcinroy)
The Pitch: A worker with an awkward disability nevertheless strives to succeed in his office job.
A visceral and vicious comedy in the vein of ‘Office Space’ as our lead is passed over for promotion, annoys the office girl he fancies, bonds with his bestie, and gets bullied by the office Harpys. It literally lets the grossness hang out from the start and builds to a level reminiscent of Psycho Gorman as the mayhem and mishaps are thrown at you towards the end. It even has a moral. A great mix of warm hearts and gross, gross, gross-out frights.
Smile (Directed by Joanna Tsanis)
The Pitch: When a young woman struggles to smile, her depression becomes something truly monstrous.
I try to be as spoiler free as I can, so with this film being really brief, I have to reduce it or ruin it. The lead in this is relatable as is the pressure. The design and style of the horror were detailed and immaculate. And it's straight to the point, sincere and full of teeth so it will leave horror fans grinning from ear to ear. Just like this review.
Cruise (Directed by Sam Rudykoff)
The Pitch: Cruise is a thriller-comedy satire about telemarketers that try to sell you a cruise and the aftermath once you hang up on them.
Call centres. I've done them. This film follows the stress and pressure within every call at times. Humorous and tense. Like Smile, it sticks to its guns and gets the job done with great impact.
From Beyond (Directed by Fredrik S Hana)
The Pitch: A kaleidoscopic vision portraying mankind's first meeting with alien life, told through faux archival footage combined with practical FX, miniatures and old-school in-camera trickery.
Finally, one of the longer features and something that may be of special interest to the readers of The Comic Crush! Documentary history meets found footage mixed media in a tale about an unusual alien encounter that leaves a lot to our imagination while using many of the conventions one would suspect. Part Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets body horror of Cronenberg. The film has a great tone and its monochrome adds a weird sense of authenticity while emphasising the surreal quality of our view. In many ways, it does for Starro what Brightburn did for Superman, and with a similar mindset chills to the core.