See More 15 Second Horror Films That'll Creep You Out...
Another year, another round of short horror films created by many a filmmaker for the 15 second horror challenge.
Another year and another round of short-horror-films created by many a #filmmaker for the #15secondhorrorchallenge 2016. Being a writer/filmmaker myself I had to give it a second go and produced several entries for the competition (see last year's shorts and awards here). I've got to say I personally prefer my efforts this time around as they benefited from all my experiences last year. Plus I long to create 'short and sweet' horror video's that leave the viewer wanting more, did I achieve that? You tell me, here's three more 15-second horror films to send shivers down your spine...
'A man tries to escape a harsh truth from his past...'
The idea of a man who 'drinks to stop the demons' just came to me and I love the fact it's very simple and to the point. I mean, when your dealing with 15 seconds maximum time it's gotta be short and sweet. Hopefully it's a moody piece that will leave the viewer with some questions and a creepy smile on their faces afterwards.
To achieve a darker tone for the shoot, I plastered my windows with bin bags and closed the blinds. This helped to create a definite mood and with my little blue light illuminating my main actor (Stephen Will) I think we managed to portray a nice level of inner turmoil for the character. I mean it's not everyday a telephone rings without being plugged in is it?
The short won "Best Twist" award at the Bloody Horror International Film Festival and was screened with the rest on November 10th. I wish I could have been there to see it with an audience, however I live in Scotland and the festival is based in Ottawa, Canada. Being poor REALLY sucks...
Phone also got into celebrity guest judge and star of #Hellraiser 1 & 2 #NicholasVince's Top Five! A great achievement since there were over 450 entries this time around. Oh, wait a second, I'm getting another call...
'Your HEART will Slow, Time will STOP, Your breath will FALTER...'
While I've never been stabbed myself, in the movies it's a great little moment for an actor to express themselves. I know I sound mental but I had a simple idea of showing someone in a state of (have a guess) shock and having the viewer wonder what was going on as we pan back to reveal the knife. The idea was almost a one shot that would have had a slower reveal but that's not quite what happened.
Ultimately after I'd made the short I became worried it just wasn't enough and had to film myself as a masked killer so it made a little more sense. I actually played around with the lighting more after the initial shoot and added the green and red colours as a visible emotion onscreen. Think it's a fun little grind-house nod personally but that's just me...
'Never ask the dead anything...you won't like their answer!'
Now #Ouija was made in the attempt at doing a 'one shot' film, I've never really made a #foundfootage short before so this was actually quite straight forward. I made this last year but couldn't bare to trim it down to 15 seconds at the time, this year however I was less sentimental and it occurred to me that at it's original 48 seconds run-time it was too long (lol).
Oh and principle actor Michael Pemberton wore dark contacts to achieve his glassy stare as a possessed victim. However they had already been wore that day by his sister Sian Evans (see pic) who was the scary 'Raven' lady in last years 15 second short Photo. They were only one day use one's and to top that off, when he put them in, one kept disappearing behind his eyelid, he was such a trooper though as he kept them in for at least half an hour so i could get the shot.
Who's The Daddy?
Enough about my work, check out the official TOP 20! It's actually the Top 58 but who's counting. There's some serious filmmaking talent in here and I'm so proud to be included with them in any capacity.
My personal favourite this year has to be this creepy little oddity called The Picture. Why? Because after watching this you'll probably NEVER go to a gallery ever again...
About the Creator
Matt Loftus
Horror-obsessed writer and Filmmaker
Read my ramblings here and see my short films on YouTube:MattLoftus85
My TikTok @mattloftus85
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