8 Short Horrors to keep you up at night
Sometimes, you want the adrenaline rush of a good scare, but you just don’t have the time, patience or attention span for a feature length movie.
Fortunately, short form horror has got you, and we here at Down The Cellar love a quick spook, we’ve even made some of our own here.
One thing I’ve learned whilst creating shorter horror stories, is that the shorter the time you have, the more precise you have to be. Below are 8 short horrors that manage to create dread and tension in just a few minutes.
My House Walkthrough
Link: My house walk-through
I’ve mentioned PT in my article on genius horror game mechanics, and the influence it had on the horror gaming world. Well, it’s leaked further than that, and liminal space has found its way into all sorts of mediums.
My House Walkthrough has the narrator showing you through their home. Something’s not right though, the place is in a state of disarray, and as we are guided into the house, things get more and more creepy.
A clever use of repetition and subtle, gradual changes in the surroundings turns this simple premise into an existential nightmare.
Bonus video: To ease the tension, how about watching the tonally-different making-of video.
Ignore It
This one gets straight on with it - an opening scene with heavy exposition on the horror that awaits - it may be scary, but just ignore it. This kickstarts the tension immediately.
What follows is a typical family dinner scene, but there’s a thick feeling of dread to it all. Something is stalking them, and they have to ignore it to survive.
It’s a horrible little concept, and it’s delivered so effectively in just a 6 minute run time.
He Dies At The End
When you finish this 4 minute short, you’ll laugh. You’ll laugh to relieve all the built up anxiety that the film slowly force-feeds you, all for such a goofy ending.
This short, with its tongue firmly in its cheek, centres around a man working late in his deserted office, answering a mysterious set of questions to find out how he will die.
It creates a quiet, brooding atmosphere that pushes you further and further to the edge of your seat.
Man On A Train
Fuelled by the fear of creepy strangers, this tight horror wastes no time in getting to the scares, putting the horror straight up front.
A woman sits on the train, observing the usual hubbub as passengers talk with one another. Seconds later, all the passengers have disappeared… All but one.
It’s lean and mean, foregoing character development and dialogue to crack on with the horror.
This House Has People In It
This is one of those short films that makes you wonder how on earth the creator came up with it.
Told through a number of security cameras dotted about a suburban American home, we see the daily life of a family.
I can’t begin to describe the horror, I’m not even sure I really understand it myself. It feels like an alien with only a basic understanding of the human experience wrote a soap opera. You’ll just have to see it for yourself.
Peephole
Imagine chilling in your apartment, hearing a knock at the door, looking through the peephole, and seeing your doppelganger mirroring your every move.
It’s short and punchy, delivering a smart concept with a nice punchline. And that 50’s ragtime music really adds to the dreamlike atmosphere.
Curve
It’s rare to be scared by architecture, but Curve proves that it can be done, and to great effect.
A woman wakes up on a concrete curve. It’s too steep to climb, and there’s a huge drop below. We watch as she tries her best to work her way out of this situation.
If you thought architectural terror was impressive, wait until you see what they use for the final scare…
Heck
Link: Heck
I wrote an entire article on Skinamarink, the divisive feature length that invoked a childhood fear in me. Heck was the ‘short’ film that precedes it, and it works almost as a proof-of-concept. By ‘short’, I mean 30 minutes.
It covers much the same ground as the movie, but it’s tighter, more focused and (ever so slightly) less ambiguous than its bigger brother.
I doubt it’ll change the mind of anyone who disliked Skinamarink, but it sits nicely alongside it to see how Kyle Edward Ball evolved the idea.
I wasn’t lying just to do a shameless self-plug when I said we love short horror here, Chris has written an article on David F Sandberg’s short films here.
We’ve also got a little selection of our own homemade short horrors here.
If you’ve got any others we should add to the list, drop us a comment below!
