- One of the highlights of the ABCs of Death 2 short film contest is M is for Marble, a delightfully horrific three-minute short from Zac Blair. The plot centers on an inanimate object that manages to wreak havoc on three roommates. Blair’s got a definite flair for visual tension, and the camera work is superb. To watch the film and read more about the competition, click here.
- Another notable entry in the contest is Summer Johnson’s M is for Make Believe, a deeply disturbing tale of two little girls playing dress-up who stumble upon a wounded man in a forest and decide to patch him up with their made-up magic. Johnson keeps the camera pulled in tight and makes use of clever editing, making for an incredibly intense three-minute thrill ride. See the short here.
- For something a little less creepy and a lot more crude, check out Trust & Estates, Jeannette Bonds’ five-minute short that’s based almost entirely on a rather obscene conversation between four lawyers that the director overheard in a Santa Monica restaurant. Bonds estimates that 75% of the film’s dialogue comes straight from what she heard, and she combines it with simple black-and-white animation that serves as an ideal backdrop for the shocking words. It’s definitely not for the easily offended, however, and I recommend watching it with headphones in. To watch the short, click here.
- Slightly less effective but still worth watching is Zach Wechter’s Election Day, an 11-minute political thriller set during a high school election. Wechter’s aesthetic is highly stylized, calling to mind classic mystery films. The trouble is that the dialogue doesn’t quite settle into that style, and the short feels a bit stilted and unpolished as a result. The twist at the end, however, makes the whole thing more than worth it. The film can be found here.
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