Horror shorts are a wonderful thing. No, I’m not talking about those awesome under-roos with Freddy Krueger’s face on the crotch (although using the front hole to give him a weird “tongue” is massive fun); I’m talking about the often beautiful and terrifying short films that are floating around in our beloved genre. What makes these films so special is that a filmmaker is hard pressed to fit in the logic, emotional depth, and (most importantly) chill inducing terror known so well from feature length films into a tiny package of around twenty minutes or less. The time limit alone can either make or break the entire effectiveness of a horror short, which is why they’re so delightful when they manage their time well and so disappointing when they don’t. Making a horror short is by no means an easy task and by far a very unforgiving one if the effect isn’t delivered properly.
Writer/director Randal Plunkett’s (Lord Dunsany) latest short film, Out There, comes in at only 15 minutes and 22 seconds. The film’s story weaves an intricate web of confusion and discovery surrounding its protagonist, Robert (Conor Marren). Robert wakes up in a lonely forest with a flowing wound on his forehead and no recollection of how he got there. To make matters worse, the village he eventually wanders into seems to be completely deserted and left in shambles…I think you know where this is headed. It’s a premise we all know and love from many full length films; but with the duration of little more than a commercial break, does it manage to deliver?
There’s a lot to like about this horror short. Plunkett has crafted a script that fleshes out just enough to provide heapings of intrigue, dashes of clarity, and a wonderfully horrifying ending. There are many horror tropes present in the film that may come across as somewhat cliché initially, but actually serve the film well. When you have a limited time to inject fear and mystery into your audience it’s best to stick with familiar tropes and get those red flags waving. And wave, they do. The moment Robert enters the dilapidated Irish village with seemingly no signs of activity other than an increasingly loud power generator, tiny warning bells will be going off in the viewer’s head. We’ve seen this before and it didn’t end well…certainly it won’t now either. The film is full of these moments. However, some are more effective than others. For instance, the previously mentioned generator left a nice bitter taste in my mouth. I immediately expected doom to show up around every corner for as long as that sound kept ransacking the scene. It was a really nice touch to open the madness with. Unfortunately, there’s a similar moment that in general is fairly creepy but ultimately left me more bewildered than tense. Somewhere nearing the midpoint of the film, Robert happens upon a small cottage of sorts. The rooms are scrawled with bloody messages and what appears to be some Satanic imagery. Spooky stuff to be sure (at least Robert thinks so), but in the context of the rest of the 15 minute film this bit is left rather unexplained and comes across more as a creepy device than a terrifying accent to the rest of the piece. That moment aside, the rest of the playful visual cues and tropes used throughout the film had me smiling and waiting for the next bit in anticipation.
As I said before, in order to deliver a really good horror story in a short amount of time, you have to jam pack it a bit. Which is exactly what Plunkett did with Out There. This is by no means a complaint, either. Somehow Plunkett drafted a script that manages to not only lead you with Robert’s shambling confusion throughout the small Irish town, but also toss you clues about how he got there and what he was doing. How did he do this? With another beloved trope, the ever useful flashback. It’s through these well timed flashbacks that we get a glimpse into the events prior to Robert waking up in the empty forest. These segments are where we get to know Robert’s troubled girlfriend, Jane, who is played by rising Irish starlet, Emma Eliza Regan. Without spoiling the details of these flashbacks, I will say that I found myself a slight bit confused regarding Jane. It seemed to me that Regan’s performance was on the subdued side and it was unclear if this was strictly due to her performance or if the character of Jane was meant to be that way. Both interpretations are plausible, but neither is clearly the answer (without asking, of course). On the one hand Regan’s performance possessed a sort of haunting quality to it as if the character of Jane was deeply troubled by something she did not wish to speak of. On the other hand, there isn’t much mentioned or shown in the film to explain this personality. There’s no mention of depression, secrets, etc. Perhaps this is due to the time limitation, or perhaps it’s due to something else. In any case, I didn’t find myself dwelling too much on the issue and could still enjoy the flashback segments for the purpose they served. The segments provided a clear outline of the events leading up to Robert waking in the forest, and when you have all the pieces to the puzzle you are left with an appropriately disturbing image.
All in all I rather enjoyed Out There. You can sense the filmmaker’s passion for the genre throughout and the film’s narrative has a rather sympathetic protagonist to keep things going. This is always refreshing in the current sea of unsympathetic leading roles in the horror genre. Having a confused and sympathetic guy leading you through a maze of confusion and terror helps you put yourself in the poor guy’s shoes…which eventually becomes a nightmarish thought. However, due to some of the issues mentioned (unexplained bloody symbols, unexplained depression in Jane) perhaps giving this film the full length treatment would be a good thing. It seems as if Plunkett’s ideas somewhat transcend the time limit allotted. The main plot of the film serves well for such a short, but the tiny details could benefit from some further explanation. That said, Plunkett still managed to fill up a relatively short amount of time with a fairly rich story that didn’t feel rushed or heavy-handed. Likewise, the familiar tropes sprinkled with an Irish twinge made for a surprisingly fresh experience in an otherwise known tale.
I’m a sucker for a good horror short, and I honestly thought that Out There was exactly that: a good horror short. There could still be a bit of refinement here and there concerning particular plot elements and performance delivery, but the film’s story is A-grade. I’d also like to quickly point out the rather pleasant camera work in this film. For a short film this one had some rather impressive camera angles and lighting choices. With the feel of a feature-length indie film, Out There serves its purpose well and is certainly a little film for horror fans out there to really sink their teeth into.
