Sunday is a good day for short film watching! Today I decided to watch a couple more of Nic Hamilton‘s works, a 3-minute horror film, and a kitschy Jodorowsky-esque superhero film. Each of these short films are available to watch online!

Lights Out (2013)
David Sandberg, 3 minutes

This short horror film is actually terrifying. Based on the childlike paranoia of turning the lights off and seeing monsters in the dark, this film packs a huge punch for being just 3 minutes long. Not only is its use of minimal music and light perfect for the genre, the sound design is so great. It builds the tension to the point where just the sound of floorboards creaking is incredibly scary. I’m a sucker for jump-scares in horror movies, and they get me every time. I’m not going to spoil anything about this because I want everyone to see it, but what the film does well is take the fears people might have had in their childhood, and place them an adult context – which in and of itself is so frightening. I watched this once a couple of days ago, and then started watching it again today but I couldn’t finish it because I got too scared in the middle of the day. Maybe if you aren’t easily scared then you won’t have the same reaction! This is definitely worth watching for fans of the horror genre.

4/5
Watch the short film here.

Warehouses (2014)
Nic Hamilton, 10 minutes

Who would have thought watching ten minutes of deflated droopy basketballs dangling from metal hooks would be compelling viewing? I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been enjoying non-narrative artistic short films lately, but I found this interesting in a vaguely disturbing way. The saggy basketballs kind of look like human flesh after a while, which gives this a strange horror film quality. However, the visuals do become vaguely repetitive after a while, and I think the film could have ‘achieved its message’ in much less time. But when combined with its pulsating industrial electronic music, the visuals and music integrate in a really entrancing way. The music, by producer Kane Ikin, is great. This one isn’t essential viewing, but if it sounds like something you would enjoy, definitely give it a go.

2.5/5
Watch the short film here.

L-Vis 1990 – Ballads
Nic Hamilton, 2 minutes

I think the name of this short film is the name of a musician/band and the title of their EP. This film was released in order to promote the EP. Set in a submerged shopping centre or office complex, L-Vis 1990 – Ballads brings to mind a modern-day Atlantis. Paired with more pulsating electronic music, which seems to be Hamilton’s specialty music, the visuals are actually stunning and so intriguing. Small fish dart around what must have previously been a hive of activity, but now has been reclaimed by the ocean. The image of the statue of the couple kissing, completely submerged, is really intriguing. Whatever happened to the humans in this alternate world? This is just a short snippet of this strange aquatic landscape, but the imagery will stay with you for quite a while.

3/5
Watch the short film here.

Pineal Warriors – Supermeng vs the Anunnaki (2013)
The Borscht Corp, 7 minutes

What the heck did I just watch? Dazed Digital describes this as “a kitschy superhero homage to Alejandro Jodorowsky, complete with gold lamé and psychedelic lasers”, and there is no disagreeing with that. This film’s DIY, Windows ’95, MS Paint aesthetic is kind of charming but is incredibly self-aware. Jodorowsky made his actors munch on some magic mushrooms before a certain scene in order to get the performance he wanted in his amazing film, The Holy Mountain (1973). I wouldn’t be surprised if the creators of this short film were off their faces on many, many drugs during the writing, filming, and editing of this one. It kind of makes no sense but its seven minutes will fly by because it’s funny and weird. I like stuff like this, even if it is completely stupid. High art, this film is not. But it is a lot of fun. Watch out for the amazingly cheesy ‘rap’ over the credits.

3/5
Watch the short film here.