By Marc Patterson
Around these parts we’re big fans of short horror films. Creating a perfect anthology of shorts is a significant challenge to any producer. There’s a real art to the curation of shorts into a masterful anthology. One needs to consider the broad theme, the mood, and what overarching story (if any) there will be. Then one needs to mix in just enough diversity to fit the fickle needs of an audience, while at the same time staying true to the vision.
It came as no surprise that our long time friends at Dread Central jumped into the ring as the latest horror fan site turned filmmaker. In fact, it made me pause and wonder what kind of splattery masterpiece our staff might create. I envisioned a horde of Fulci-esqe zombies, being beat down by a samurai wielding Asami, against a Hammer inspired backdrop, released only on limited edition VHS. Then, I winced at the thought and went back to mowing my lawn.
Regardless, whenever fans of horror can hold the reigns I expect good things to happen. Using a film submission competition, Dread Central compiled what they felt were the best in category shorts to round out their anthology, Monsterland.
With that said, let’s dive into the shorts, one-by-one, and break this disc down.
The feature opens with a framing short by Dread Central’s Andrew Kasch, and the amazing horror fiction writer John Skipp. It’s a monster apocalypse. The city skies are raining horror, and the streets have gone mad. In the midst a lone survivor stumbles into a movie theater to take refuge. He seems to have gone quite mad, and instead of hunkering down for his next battle round against the conquering beasts he grabs a bowl of popcorn and settles in for some end-times entertainment.
The first short Don’t Go Into The Water is directed by Corey Norman and felt more like an extended clip from something larger, rather than a complete film on its own. Essentially, it’s the story of a group of skinny dipping twenty-somethings go for a boozy swim and encounter an evil under the water that takes them out one, by one. While unoriginal in concept, it felt like the director had much more to say than what was actually on screen.
The Grey Matter, directed by the McCoubrey Brothers, might stand as my favorite of the lot. An office worker with a giant, bloody, hole in the back of his head – which he doesn’t seem to make much of – attempts to land a date with an attractive co-worker. In the meantime he’s getting advice from a worm-like creature. I’m not sure the film needed the added plot device, as what follows really makes the film payoff in dividends. This was a well-shot, well-written, short that could be blown up into a great feature flick.
Curiosity Kills, directed by Sander Maran, is the third short of the anthology. Shot from the childish, almost playful, perspective of a young boy, it tells the story of how the boy creates a killer rat from his father’s radioactive laboratory kit. While the short clearly had talent behind it, I found myself itching for the fast forward button. Further, it felt much too kitschy for this anthology, and didn’t fit the overall vibe of what was being presented to this point.
Hag stands out as one of the best features in this anthology. Directed by Erik Gardner this short is packed with atmosphere and great storytelling. The sickeningly beautiful visuals and the solid acting make this one short worth the upward hike it took to get to this point. The story is centered on a sleepwalking woman and her husband who is being haunted by his dreams. How the two come together amongst their marital strife makes for sharp storytelling.
Monster Man is a tepid animated short that I honestly zipped through. I’ll say no more.
The standout short that made me feel like I was watching a much higher production feature was House Call. It is undisputedly, hands down, the winner for best in class. Graham Denman has crafted a tense drama that tells the story of a desperate man, who believing that he’s turning into a vampire, pays a late night visit to his dentist. As silly as the premise seems, the acting and the ominous atmosphere make this one worth the cost of admission alone.
Jack Field’s Happy Memories is – in a word – bizarre. There was a cupcake looking puppet creature, even more twisted puppetry, and a torture sequence. I’m honestly not sure what the hell I watched, but now that someone mentioned cupcakes, I’m hungry.
The next feature, Stay at Home Dad, is directed by Andrew Kasch and John Skipp. Troma alumni Trent Haaga lends a hand in the FX department to help craft a comical and gory short about a stay at home dad who grows a giant rack to breast feed their young daughter. While the film is quite polished, it wasn’t exactly my cup of gore.
The final short, Hellyfish, is the short predominantly featured in the trailer. It’s a goofy film about a beach under siege from mutant jellyfish. Goofy and heavily doused in digital CGI this ended up being a lackluster way to wrap up what was generally a forgettable anthology.
With a title like Monsterland, I was expecting a consistent blend of macabre films, more along the lines of ABCs of Death or V/H/S. What we got instead was an amateurish mash-up, which while it contained a few bright spots, shifted heavily between themes creating an experience that was otherwise unsettling and indigestible.
My recommendation? Rent this one on streaming video. No need for a purchase as you likely won’t revisit.
Monsterland is out now on DVD and VOD from Dread Central and Ruthless Pictures.