You hear so many stories about young children going missing in the woods and Russ Gomm’s The Welcoming takes a more supernatural approach to this occurence.

This short has a German expressionist vibe slow tracking shots, foreboding music and the hint from camera angles that something just isn’t right in these woods.

A young family is taking a break from an afternoon walk as their youngest daughter takes a wander into the woods nearby, but why?

Gomm doesn’t shy away from the darker reality of the tale and its ending certainly goes to dark extremes to complete its story.

There is a hint of something bigger at work here but as a contained story The Welcoming works very well and is sure to be a favourite on the horror festival circuit.