Pigeon Shrine Frightfest continues to be one of the finest horror and genre film festivals, hosting a slew of features as well as short films.
Here is our roundup of the short films screened throughout the Frightfest weekend –
Punch
I have to be honest, it would give me red flags if I saw a sign pointing towards a theatre whilst travelling through the middle of the woods alone.
In Ross Scott’s Punch, we follow a man cycling through gorgeous woodland, and he shoots past the sign, unaware he could be riding into danger.
Luckily for him, it looks like an abandoned hand puppet show, except maybe it’s not.
Punch has a creepy edge to it, toying with the man who clearly doesn’t grasp the peril he could have entered.
This short officially makes hand puppets creepy again.
Dead of Night
A bump in the night, especially in a new home, will never not be scary.
In Jack Downs’ micro-short Dead Of Night, we follow a young lady who hasn’t long moved into her new home, before there is a bump in the dead of night…
This film has a real dream-like quality to it, with a haze following us as we investigate.
What Downs does well is play with shadow plus an excellent use of lighting to create peripheral terror for our protagonist.
Dead of Night, despite a short runtime really crams in the creepiness.
VHX
The VHS has made a comeback amongst horror and genre enthusiasts. The grainy quality, while previously scorned as we started to upscale classic releases has now come full circle, and is often yearned for.
In Alisa Stern and Scott Ampleford’s VHX, in a flip, of sorts to the VHS anthologies, we follow two actual videotapes that have been left on the shelf for way too long.
In what feels like a satire of the MandM adverts, our tapes have feelings and get angry when they’re not played, which I guess is the purpose of their lives.
VHX becomes quite the parody of the zombie motif, and in turn, a fun, entertaining watch.
What A Catch
I must admit that I find the idea of night fishing quite creepy. I would be constantly unnerved by any noise, and that’s before my mind starts to wonder about what lies beneath the water.
Thomas Pickering’s What A Catch, opens on a misty lake as our fisherman starts his night, we guess hoping to land a few whoppers.
As it turns out he needn’t worry about the fish biting back as something more sinister wants to get its hook into him.
What A Catch is surprisingly vicious, with some wince-inducing gore too.
This is one short you can definitely get hooked on.
The Vampire Theory
Living with a vampire can be tough. They’re demanding, they keep different hours and well you could be their next snack.
In Dominic Grose’s short The Vampire Theory, we explore the relationship between a mother and son, who are also familiar and vampire to boot.
She attempts to explain it away, even sourcing textbooks to prove it to a doctor, who asks about alternative treatment.
They make the clever choice of keeping the vampire in the periphery, with the odd creek from upstairs jolting his mother and us the viewers.
Moody and atmospheric, The Vampire Theory has a haunting quality that will really get under the viewer’s skin.
Safe
David Yorke’s micro-short transports us into what feels like the closing stages of a slasher film, as our final girl battles the masked killer.
Everything isn’t what it seems and Yorke, who clearly knows the tropes, is willing to have a bit of fun with it.
Darkly comedic, Safe will definitely resonate with slasher fans.
Yellowmeads
Painting a sombre picture from the outset, we have a voiceover talking about the loss of community as we pan across a foggy area where (what looks like abandoned) high-rise buildings stand, overlooking a pond.
There is racial tension that permeates, as a black woman is followed home by a woman, who appears to have lights in her eyes…
This scene quickly becomes a minor chase scene, although we don’t know essentially why at this stage.
We see leaflets about the apartments, the titular Yellowmeads, are changing, but to what degree we will find out.
Yellowmeads is a haunting commentary on classism that skirts around home invasion and also duplicity themes.
End of Days
Bringing about the end of mankind can be tiresome.
This is what we find out from the Pagan cult who fronts Jack Carey’s End of Days.
PSA for this short, incense can also trigger asthma plus you all have to chip in with the laundry.
The mockumentary gives us a peak behind the curtain, with a group of seriously inept cultists.
Carey’s short is extremely funny, taking the tropes of a cult and flipping them on their heads for a bundle of laughs. Arguably, one of the short highlights of the festival to date.
Open Your Eyes
As someone who suffers with sporadic sleep deprivation, I definitely felt a kinship to Samantha Scaffidi’s short Open Your Eyes.
This is only part of the narrative, which shows a woman very much struggling with visions, she can’t tell are real or not, given her fatigue.
She tries everything to distract herself, including baking, watching movies and workouts, but nothing seems to root out the real issue bothering her.
The ultimate message of Open Your Eyes is, if you’re struggling, speak to someone. This haunting short is not for the faint hearted.
Skewered
There is always the temptation to spice up a relationship that is seriously lacking in passion.
In Skewered, we follow a couple who will look at sexual and culinary tactics to get things back on track.
This has more of a dark satire vibe initially rather than outright horror, as we see this couple’s frosty partnership start to thaw as secrets are laid out.
It goes off in an unexpected direction, which you will either like or hate, I feel there may be no middle ground.
Definitely an acquired taste.
1 Star Review
In a world of social media and websites coming out of our ears, plus podcasts to boot, products and services often live or die by feedback that’s given.
Let’s face it, one disgruntled person can cause widespread panic amongst a marketing team with a single tweet.
John Ferrer’s short 1 Star Review, takes it to the extreme, especially when criticising a restaurant’s service and output.
Our Chef’s murderous impulses are reined in, as he discusses his work with a potential partner, who by happenstance works in social media.
1 Star Review has a dark undertone to it, and our chef is genuinely quite creepy, plus in an environment where knives are aplenty, it certainly makes you look at a kitchen a different way.
The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess
Princesses can be quite demanding, especially the one in L.M Montgomery’s animated short The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess.
Her aim is to marry the ultimate king, which in turn sets off a bloodbath, as kings from all lands vie for her hand in marriage.
It may feel plucked out of a Disney fairytale, to a point, but The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess has a real dark undertone that permeats it.
This is a cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for, and perhaps getting to know your suitor before getting married.
Unravelling
Looking after an ageing parent or grandparent is a tough gig, especially if said parent has a bit more baggage than usual.
Unravelling presents us with the grandmother and granddaughter dynamic, as the granddaughter tries to keep her nan on track but also questions whether everything is as it seems.
This short is a visceral body horror, with moments that will have you wincing.
Unravelling asks the question of whether you can escape your bloodline or if history is destined to repeat itself.
It’s Really You
I suppose for priests it’s like a lucky dip when it comes to exorcisms; you never know what you’re gonna get.
It’s Really You does rely on tropes set for the past 50 years in exorcism films, but does break new ground by casting people of colour which is progressive in itself, given how this sub-genre is primarily white-washed. There is also a poignancy to the film, which begs the question if men and demons can co-exist or even love each other?
Boasting an excellent and layered script, with commentary on religion, love and of course demonic possession, It’s Really You is a refreshing and original exorcism film that’s well worth seeing.
Hide Your Crazy
Couples who have secrets tend to strive or die when the revelations finally come to the fore.
In Hide Your Crazy, a girl decides to finally come clean with her boyfriend about her supernatural secret, and we are here for the ride.
Pitched more as a horror rom-com, Hide Your Crazy boasts some astounding special effects, which take body horror to a whole new level, especially given this is a short on a presumably limited budget.
The title may be misleading as this short begs the question, what if you didn’t hide your crazy from those who you love?
All of the films reviewed above were screened as part of Frightfest 2024.
Bloody Flicks 