The Buried Alive Film Festival officially kicks of tonight and we had to flesh out our review of the shorts blocks that are screening this weekend in Atlanta. For a review of other shorts appearing at the fest, check out Killer Shorts

On the Creepier Side

Among the creepier of the shorts, is an Australian piece by Joshua Long called Post Mortem Mary, In which a mother and her daughter are memento mori photographers in 1840’s Australia.

“They arrive to a small farmhouse to find devastated parents grieving over the death of their daughter but as they get to work Mary’s mother is required to comfort the grieving parent, leaving Mary alone to confront her phobia she must do all she can to make the dead look alive…”

We are definitely suckers for well done historical horror stories, but even if you aren’t, this tale is good and spooky and the pacing keeps the unease pumping throughout. Don’t miss this chilling 19th century yarn.

Rib-splitting

For those of you that like a good hangover horror mystery, check out Gut Punch by Chance White.

“A rag-tag group of good time seeking bros are invited to the party of their dreams…. a sorority lake house bash! But the next morning, they find their dream party has become a nightmarish reality.”

Hannah Fierman from VHS and Randy Havens of Stranger Things have fun in this throwback horror comedy. Jonah Weingarten’s score sets the tone befitting the bro-seriousness of the situation and the special effects result in plenty of laughs throughout. Gut Punch is one of our favorite horror comedy shorts screening at BAFF.

Non-Traditional Media and Animated Animosity

We always like it when people play around with media that isn’t just live action film. Here are three shorts that manage to express their tales through alternative media or contain an alternative take on traditional filming methods and media.

Of course, any short entitled Mannequins is going to be bizarre…

“Four friends… visit the abandoned Carpenter Hill Hospital for fun, for laughs and for scares but none of them can know the true darkness that waits for them, a force they find themselves inexplicably drawn toward…”

From the summary alone one might guess there is going to be some fairly tongue-in-cheek humor. However, it is the use of the title object – mannequins – in director David Malcolm’s short that makes it so visually striking and cinematically outside the box.

Should You Meet a Lady in a Darkened Wood by director Daniel Stankler mixes a psychedelic animation style with a story that is both humorous and folklore inspired. The animation feels as though the intro credit scene from the 1970 film The Dunwich Horror was expanded into a fully realized short. Should You Meet a Lady in a Darkened Wood’s soundtrack compliments the non-traditional animation style as well as the hypnotic fable presented to the audience. If you like your fairy tales and dreams with a dark tinge, this short is for you.

Count Your Curses, directed by Dir. Lorène Yavo, paints a distorted reality where the supernatural is so omnipresent that it is almost taken for granted. Two roommates are in search for a supernatural guardian after their previous protector is devoured by an unknown creature. Yavo’s animated short is certainly original in animation style and should not be missed.

WTF Award!

There were several shorts we felt fell into the WTF category, but one we have to talk about is C L A W by Christopher Litten.

“An adult film performer meets a mysterious producer and discovers the true price of fame.”

Loosely based on a creepypasta, it wasn’t so much the story but the imagery used to depict it that is so striking about this short. Whether it’s discussing fetish, phobia, or both this short will have you gnashing your teeth and cringing your face off.