Admit it, all of us love to get scared: Butterflies in stomach. Nervous perspiration. Pounding heartbeat. Faster breathing.
The cause of fright can vary, but the catalyst stays the same- our curiosity regarding the unknown, the unexplored; pushing the envelope, seeing how much fear we can tolerate, and the ultimate feeling of satisfaction after enduring the anxiety.
Here is a list of eight ‘handpicked’ short films, which are bound to give you some sleepless nights. I’ve kept the names random, nothing like-“Scariest to Least Scary”..
8. Cop Cam
The “Found Footage” genre is failing to pack the punch that they used to. If you have an affinity for “The Blair Witch Project”- inspired found footage which is not overdone or lazy, this little mind-fuck is for you.
https://youtu.be/OvSlUgSKEuc
7. Mama, Short film
Do you reckon the moments of waking up from sleep, only to find your mum has returned home! Best feeling ever, right?!
NOT ALWAYS THOUGH..
The film begins with a young girl waking up and telling her sister about the mother’s arrival. Much can’t be said without spoiling it’s impact.
Directed by Andres Muschietti, it has been made into a feature film as well, which, is also directed by the same guy. It stars Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of ‘Game of Thrones’ fame (Jaime Lannister guys!!) among others.
https://youtu.be/WRqS6pBC42w
Skip to 0:50 if you haven’t seen the feature film yet.
6. Lights Out (A Short horror film)
Just imagine yourself, on a rainy cold night, getting ready for bed, walking through the hallway to reach your room. As you stopped to switch the hall light off, in the darkness at the other end of the hall, you see a shadow. A silhouette maybe. Something pretty much like a human…but not quite.
As you turn the lights back on, it’s gone. Turn the lights off again, the silhouette reappears.
Three minutes of nifty visual that gets really creepy, really quickly, playing on our distrust when it comes to darkness and our own perception. It teases the age old fear of glimpsing something in the dark or from the corner of the eye, not being certain if it’s real.
This quick-flick managed to land on many folk’s radar and now, it has its own full length feature.
https://youtu.be/-fDzdDfviLI
5. 2 AM: The Smiling Man
There are few things more frightening than that which walk among us, but are not us. These are the things which are not human but are a short click away from reaching us with their masks off.
Based on the notoriously infamous “Creepy Pasta/Urban Legend”, filmmaker Michael Evans’s “2 AM”, is just over four minutes in length and like the source material, contains only one line of dialogue!!
The legend of the Smiling Man has gone viral, with countless other similar sightings reported.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6Tt3PqIfQ
4. Creep
When driving the car at night, alone, while your eyes are on the road, following the parallel beams of the headlights, do you ever realize how dark it is in the back seat?
The video starts with a woman driving at night, talking to her friend on phone. (Don’t use phone while driving!!)
By this point you know something is coming.
I believe you’ll turn every light inside the vehicle after watching this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhkC-xLi5DI
3. Whisperer
“Oh! You must be hallucinating!”
This is the very conclusion we end up with when someone claims to have seen something which comes under the category of “Supernatural”. Of course there are no ghosts, but people who hallucinate such entities are nevertheless victims! After watching this video, you’ll be forced to ask yourself “Is she sane?”, “Maybe she is really messed up”, “It’s legit, she is crazy”
“Maybe she is not lunatic.”
Whatever the case maybe, you’ll definitely feel a shiver down the spine if you hear someone whisper at night, after watching this film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgG2-gcWjt4
2. Bedfellows
This one, you might’ve already seen.
Sometimes, three minutes and a cast of three is all you need to make people “shart” in their pants. A minimalist short film, it establishes, at the very beginning, shots of the darkened bedroom of happy couple- Rachel and Danny. Rachel is awakened by her phone ringing..and that’s enough spoilers!
This is the same studio which gave us “Creep”. You know what their motto is?
“Create Nightmares”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z6xGU2_g9s
1. Reed
Jump scares are amazing, aren’t they?! We all hate that feeling which accompanies it but c’mon; who doesn’t like jump scares?!!
Reed breathes a new life into the genre of POV (Point of view) short films. With a brilliant design, the video leaves you pondering upon the thought-“What was that?!”
So in conclusion, make sure you don’t go of the noose, or better, don’t walk your dog at night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vMCz7eSUHI
Finally, I hope you hate me now. Please, do suggest some more short horror films which you think, can make our bladders vulnerable..