Pre-Film Shorts – Blood in the Snow 2016

Here is my rundown of most of the pre-film short films from the 2016 Blood in the Snow Film Festival.

Ghost Can
A woman returns home from a date with a can containing an ancient spirit. There is a certain campy tone to the plot of Ghost Can, however it does feature a well designed ghost.

My Brother Charlie
A boy laments how his brother keeps having to go to the hospital. My Brother Charlie is a tale about brotherly love, even though one happens to be a sociopath. While not exactly unexpected, the ending for this short is quite clever.

Inferno
Bambi has anxieties about her first night and Club Inferno and chooses to give a dance to equally nervous 18 year old Jason. However, the specifics of this lapdance is more darker than most stripclubs. Inferno is a very stylish short film, involving too individuals getting over their anxieties. While the twist is something you can see coming from a mile away, it doesn’t stop Inferno from being any less enjoyable.

Stillborn
A childbirth goes awry in an isolated cabin. Stillborn is a very artistic short told without any dialogue. This film is exquisitely well shot and the story is pretty easy to follow through the visuals.

No Trespassing
A couple girls enter a wooded area occupied by a sinister force. No Trespassing is relatively successful at building tension over its short running time, though I am puzzled by the fact that the villain looks like a walking mannequin.

Ingrid and the Black Hole
Ingrid and her best friend Conrad experience a lifetime of memories together when they imagine what it would be like to travel through a black hole. Ingrid and the Black Hole is a relatively simple romantic story, but it’s incredibly well executed with some great editing, as the plot moves through time.

Glimpse
An exploration of the damaged mind of a cinephile. This is a very messed up experimental short, featuring some shocking imagery and pretty much no story whatsoever. My best description of this would be “snuff film porn” and I was not at all a fan.

Tik Tik
As a woman enters labour, villagers prepare for the presence of a sinister creature. With only a three minute running time, Tik Tik doesn’t really spend too much time developing its story, though I presume it’s based on some sort of mythical belief.

Taking Possession
A man buys a 150 year old house and experiences strange activity during the night. Taking Possession is a great old school ghost story, featuring strange sounds at night and exploring lantern-lit hallways. I quite enjoyed this one.

Cauchemar Captionnè
A man acquires a haunted chair, which gives those who sit in it suicidal thoughts. It seems like haunted objects is a trend in horror over the course of the last few years. Cauchemar Captionnè has a relatively simple story, but it’s well executed with some decent gory visuals.