Chilling Visions 2014
This was meant for my imdb user account, but the 1000 word limit wouldn't allow it, so I'll just drop it in full here and try and reduce the review so that it can be accepted.
This is an anthology of unrelated short films all dealing with fears ranging from the inability to move, burial alive, losing your ability to function without assistance, succumbing to derangement which results in cutting yourself, and losing a loved one too soon.
"Ego Death": a narcissistic, womanizing cretin, with a hefty bank
account, drives his "mouthy, nagging" lover out to the desert to rid
himself of a nuisance, returning to his pretty, calm-voiced wife.
Before burying the other woman alive, she laughed up at him, with this
seemingly serving as a type of guilty attachment he can't seem to
shake. Her phantom re-emerges to mock and torment him. Returning to the
scene of the crime when his dinner with the wifey is interrupted by the
"spectre of a bothered conscience", he will confront more than just a
lone figure in the dark of the desert…we soon learn than this burial
wasn't a "one time occurrence". Sufficed to say, he cannot overcome his
past transgressions, no matter how big the hole he dug is or how much
earth he covers across them. I actually liked this, considering it is
eight minutes and a lot of backstory needs to be elaborated in that
time. We get the details we need, plus the buried lover returning from
beyond the grave (even if a demon on the mind) to haunt the creep is
coolly elaborated. Like when she is silhouetted in another room behind
the wife (nice contrasting shot), or you see multiple specters emerging
across the dirt (silhouetted themselves, with only their figures,
darkened by the night, transparent) "approaching" the villain as if a
coven ready to get their pound of flesh. Gets the point across, for
sure. Impressively photographed for a low budget short. ***
"Separation": An elderly man, seemingly succumbing to dementia and
memory loss, is approached by his daughter and her husband (who he
despises) to move out of the house (which he built with his own hands
he yells at his son-in-law), but he's persistent that the only way that
will happen is in a coffin. Appearing to have his best interest at
heart, a noble effort to keep him safe and well looked after, the
couple try as they might to convince him to go to a home they said he
liked. But all is not what it appears when the old timer digs up the
dog he supposedly put down, after building a coffin and planning to
blow his brains out with a shotgun (a shotgun he forgot to load the
shells in!). Best laid plans are soon thrown into mortal terror when
"premature burial" visits itself on those who would manipulate and take
advantage of their elder. The image of the old man above ground and a
begging victim in a coffin pounding the wood deep in the earth is
especially inventive. While it isn't too uncommon to see a horror film
where characters appear one way only to be revealed completely
different, with a rather unsettling agenda, I thought this was rather
effective in its execution. Just desserts, too, as the victim soon
turns the tables. Is this altogether original—not really—but the
direction gets the most out of the material. It does verify that there
is cause for alarm (the stove incident, occasional falls), but
ultimately when he gains understanding of how he's been duped, there's
enough cognitive reasoning left to usurp those wanting to capitalize on
his vulnerability. **½
"Mutilation": A handsome couple decides to visit a Connecticut area,
remote and seemingly vacant, once a thriving community that fell to a
type of lyme disease. The husband seemed to have been there some with
his father and so this is an important revisit for him. The wife agrees
because it means a lot to her beau. What they encounter is a type of
infection, even perhaps a mental breakdown resulting from a type of
radioactive or bio-chemical mad science. The fence with the warning
sign should have told them that perhaps visiting the place was the
wrong idea! This is a particularly grisly tale with an opening scene
that really sets up the short film in skin crawling fashion: a
scientist from a Plum facility is cutting away at whatever he thinks is
inside him. An ominous figure - never truly elaborated in full figure -
seems to be a weapon that keeps the area a secret from outside
"invaders". Seeing the couple crippled by madness and tearing away at
their body (particularly the wife) with a knife is quite
squirm-inducing. This might test some folks resolve. There is some
explanation before it begins that might clear the air on what is going
on to those in the story. The gray, dead winter aesthetic of the
environs is quite a backdrop to the disturbing violence unleashed on
the viewer. **½
"Extinction": A grieving mother's daughter's ghost visits her with
instructions: to kill the husband who plotted and executed her demise!
Instead of killing him outright, the mother prolongs the man's
suffering so she can continue to spend time with her daughter who seems
to be withering! The "restless spirit" angle is given quite a fresh
coat of paint as the mother, asked to get revenge for the phantom
unable to have peace until her loss is avenged, just wants more time
with the daughter gone far too soon. The mourning of a mother
counteracts with justice for her daughter…she would have to give up
further time with her daughter if she does kill the bastard that took
her life. A pickle for the mom, for sure. The daughter's wishes
ultimately will force the mom to comply…or the killer's moving things
along by breaking free from his restraints. **½
"Loss of Autonomy": A news reporter has been committing infidelity and
his wife (who reports the news alongside him) knows all about it.
Convenient stroke leaves him unable to move or talk, just move his
eyes, and the wife plots her revenge, with plenty of tormenting and
ridicule – and plots to take what money he has invested for their son
and kill him! – capitalizing on his unfortunate state. What I thought
made this effective was how the husband communicates with nothing but
his eyes the struggle while the vengeance-fueled wife carries out her
wares right in front of him with plenty of malice and venom. The
vulnerable position he is in (she has sex in front of him with a
graphics designer, doesn't change his diaper, sets his wheelchair to go
into a pool) is sympathized because we see what he's been married to
all his life. The telekinesis which arises is a neat little addition
which eventually favors him and grants us a twist which gives her a
little dose of her own medicine. **½
This is an anthology of unrelated short films all dealing with fears ranging from the inability to move, burial alive, losing your ability to function without assistance, succumbing to derangement which results in cutting yourself, and losing a loved one too soon.
"Ego Death": a narcissistic, womanizing cretin, with a hefty bank
account, drives his "mouthy, nagging" lover out to the desert to rid
himself of a nuisance, returning to his pretty, calm-voiced wife.
Before burying the other woman alive, she laughed up at him, with this
seemingly serving as a type of guilty attachment he can't seem to
shake. Her phantom re-emerges to mock and torment him. Returning to the
scene of the crime when his dinner with the wifey is interrupted by the
"spectre of a bothered conscience", he will confront more than just a
lone figure in the dark of the desert…we soon learn than this burial
wasn't a "one time occurrence". Sufficed to say, he cannot overcome his
past transgressions, no matter how big the hole he dug is or how much
earth he covers across them. I actually liked this, considering it is
eight minutes and a lot of backstory needs to be elaborated in that
time. We get the details we need, plus the buried lover returning from
beyond the grave (even if a demon on the mind) to haunt the creep is
coolly elaborated. Like when she is silhouetted in another room behind
the wife (nice contrasting shot), or you see multiple specters emerging
across the dirt (silhouetted themselves, with only their figures,
darkened by the night, transparent) "approaching" the villain as if a
coven ready to get their pound of flesh. Gets the point across, for
sure. Impressively photographed for a low budget short. ***
"Separation": An elderly man, seemingly succumbing to dementia and
memory loss, is approached by his daughter and her husband (who he
despises) to move out of the house (which he built with his own hands
he yells at his son-in-law), but he's persistent that the only way that
will happen is in a coffin. Appearing to have his best interest at
heart, a noble effort to keep him safe and well looked after, the
couple try as they might to convince him to go to a home they said he
liked. But all is not what it appears when the old timer digs up the
dog he supposedly put down, after building a coffin and planning to
blow his brains out with a shotgun (a shotgun he forgot to load the
shells in!). Best laid plans are soon thrown into mortal terror when
"premature burial" visits itself on those who would manipulate and take
advantage of their elder. The image of the old man above ground and a
begging victim in a coffin pounding the wood deep in the earth is
especially inventive. While it isn't too uncommon to see a horror film
where characters appear one way only to be revealed completely
different, with a rather unsettling agenda, I thought this was rather
effective in its execution. Just desserts, too, as the victim soon
turns the tables. Is this altogether original—not really—but the
direction gets the most out of the material. It does verify that there
is cause for alarm (the stove incident, occasional falls), but
ultimately when he gains understanding of how he's been duped, there's
enough cognitive reasoning left to usurp those wanting to capitalize on
his vulnerability. **½
"Mutilation": A handsome couple decides to visit a Connecticut area,
remote and seemingly vacant, once a thriving community that fell to a
type of lyme disease. The husband seemed to have been there some with
his father and so this is an important revisit for him. The wife agrees
because it means a lot to her beau. What they encounter is a type of
infection, even perhaps a mental breakdown resulting from a type of
radioactive or bio-chemical mad science. The fence with the warning
sign should have told them that perhaps visiting the place was the
wrong idea! This is a particularly grisly tale with an opening scene
that really sets up the short film in skin crawling fashion: a
scientist from a Plum facility is cutting away at whatever he thinks is
inside him. An ominous figure - never truly elaborated in full figure -
seems to be a weapon that keeps the area a secret from outside
"invaders". Seeing the couple crippled by madness and tearing away at
their body (particularly the wife) with a knife is quite
squirm-inducing. This might test some folks resolve. There is some
explanation before it begins that might clear the air on what is going
on to those in the story. The gray, dead winter aesthetic of the
environs is quite a backdrop to the disturbing violence unleashed on
the viewer. **½
"Extinction": A grieving mother's daughter's ghost visits her with
instructions: to kill the husband who plotted and executed her demise!
Instead of killing him outright, the mother prolongs the man's
suffering so she can continue to spend time with her daughter who seems
to be withering! The "restless spirit" angle is given quite a fresh
coat of paint as the mother, asked to get revenge for the phantom
unable to have peace until her loss is avenged, just wants more time
with the daughter gone far too soon. The mourning of a mother
counteracts with justice for her daughter…she would have to give up
further time with her daughter if she does kill the bastard that took
her life. A pickle for the mom, for sure. The daughter's wishes
ultimately will force the mom to comply…or the killer's moving things
along by breaking free from his restraints. **½
"Loss of Autonomy": A news reporter has been committing infidelity and
his wife (who reports the news alongside him) knows all about it.
Convenient stroke leaves him unable to move or talk, just move his
eyes, and the wife plots her revenge, with plenty of tormenting and
ridicule – and plots to take what money he has invested for their son
and kill him! – capitalizing on his unfortunate state. What I thought
made this effective was how the husband communicates with nothing but
his eyes the struggle while the vengeance-fueled wife carries out her
wares right in front of him with plenty of malice and venom. The
vulnerable position he is in (she has sex in front of him with a
graphics designer, doesn't change his diaper, sets his wheelchair to go
into a pool) is sympathized because we see what he's been married to
all his life. The telekinesis which arises is a neat little addition
which eventually favors him and grants us a twist which gives her a
little dose of her own medicine. **½
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