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Dual 2018 ★★★★
This short by Justin Staggs was a lot of fun.
It wasted no time whatsoever and used its 10 minute runtime very well. The monsters were well designed (especially the bear looked amazing), their origin is not overly explained and the ending was pretty funny.
Look out for it on Youtube.
Train 2008 ★★★
Thora Birch stars in this torture porn flick that prides itself as being similar to Hostel and Saw. Hostel is clear because of the torture scenes involving the surgery and the gore. The similarities to the latter are a bit foggy to me, as the villains are not really John Kramer-smart.
We follow a team of American wrestlers on their way to a tournament in Odessa, Ukraine. On the way there, they have to take the train through places with vague Slavic accents that are ten to one not realistic. They themselves do the Greek-Roman type of wrestling, but they still manage to have heel intelligence and Roman Reigns level likability. The scene with the guy running down the hall “naked” was predictable and I wonder why they did not think of having “what's my age again” on the soundtrack. Nice swerve, though, with the guy who looked like a relative of Denis Leary. Throw a bit of shade on him in the beginning and then make him one of the least douchy characters. Nice job.
I enjoyed seeing a genuine gorefest, though. Apart from torture porn and a few other exceptions, that has become pretty rare in the age of ghosties, haunted dolls and ditto houses. Contrary to lesser entries in this style, the script at least tries to give the villains a type of motivation (helping sick people and what not) and gives the final girl a “don't you feel like a total dick right now”-moment.
The gore and the effects were well executed and had one or two good fight scenes. I also liked how the “responsable coach” is the first one to die. More than a few bits (like the scene with the hook and the corrupt soldiers) are however pretty predictable and the foreshadowing on the wrestling are pretty on the nose too. And the ending scene with the wrestling match? Either you cut it all together or you show her really going her all out on her opponent. Now you end up with half assed stuff that does not help anyone.
Overall enjoyable, though. For those who feel like their inner gorehound has not been fed for a while.
Backstroke 2017 ★★★½
I have to admit that I am getting more and more into these horror shorts. Straight to the point, no messing about.
We follow two young runaway lovers who flee to Florida. As a voicemail message at the start of the film suggests, following some sort of family altercation between a rebellious daughter named Amber and a meddling/overbearing mother. Maybe after she shit the bed. Who knows?
Now skinny dipping has never been the best idea in the world when you are in a horror film, but I do like how they use it here.
It creates a nice dynamic between the girl in the water and the creepy guy on the shore. Right from the start, you can tell that he is up to no good. Props to the actress for the way her character tries to hide her insecurity and unease. Not to mention the fear surrounding the fate of her boyfriend. You can sense the tension throughout the scene, especially as her attempts to gain the upper hand fail.
A nice short film with a solid payoff. You get what you expect.
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