Horror In Short: The Birch (2016)

By Ben Bussey

There are undoubtedly far worse ways to start your weekend than with this rather tasty short film from UK directorial duo Ben Franklin and Anthony Melton of Bloody Cuts. At barely four minutes, The Birch is very short, but it’s oh-so sweet, centring on a put-upon teen who, it turns out, has a tremendous power at his disposal to deal with a bully. It’s gorgeously shot (kudos to cinematographer Jonny Franklin), has a nicely old-school atmosphere, and boasts a truly impressive practical FX creation.

This is the first I’ve seen from Franklin and Melton, though it’s their eighth directorial credit to date, and on this evidence I’d say they’re most definitely filmmakers worth keeping an eye on. I rather doubt The Birch needs much help reaching a broader audience, however, given that since it premiered at Facebook page Crypt TV this past Tuesday, it’s been viewed over 596 thousand times (and that’s just at the time of writing on Friday).

Watch it below, and learn more at the Bloody Cuts website.