This review will be discussing a short film titled "The Shape" by a production company called Amateur Hour Films. The short is available free to watch on their YouTube channel so I will be discussing it in depth here with spoilers. Please, I implore you, go and watch the short before reading any further. Seriously, it's ten minutes long and costs nothing.
Some background first. The Amateur Hour Films company was set up by Christian Ruvalcaba (Cobbster) and Cody Hall, with assistance by Robert Butler III (RB3) and Brian Perez (Beardo). Collectively known as "The Wangers", these chaps all work for the YouTube channels Collider and Schmoes Know, which are dedicated to talking movies (and sometimes other things like TV, comic books etc). They are all from the technical side of things, being producers, sound editors, sound engineers, video engineers, editors etc. As film fans they decided to put their technical expertise to work making short films. As big movie fans, and horror in particular, their most recent effort was an attempt to indulge that passion at a doubly appropriate time of year.
If you're on this site then you are probably well aware of the content of this short just from the title, and the film opens accordingly. The reproduction of familiar opening screen, camera shots, set design and musical tone is absolutely perfect. Right down to the carved pumpkin. We see a group of trick-or-treaters arrive at the house of our protagonist, named Kara (played by Heather Grace Hancock). I'm so impressed by how the crew were able to wrangle very young children for this scene, as that is famously not easy. And the subtle acting from the little boy dressed as Batman is flawless, with the look of recognition and slight smile letting us in on something, along with the brilliant camera shots and the view of just a shoulder with the sound of breathing. Familiar but genius. As if it couldn't be any clearer by this point we quickly get a title screen establishing place and time.
Setting the action in 2018 is such a clever touch, for reasons that become clear later. But for reference John Carpenter's Halloween was released in 1978.
Following Kara into her home the homages continue. She flicks over to an old movie just like how Carpenter used The Thing from Another World. But the film we see is far more appropriate and so clever in what it means to the post-modern nature of the narrative, something which gets developed a lot. Kara begins texting with her friend and I'm super impressed that an amateur company were able to copy the now-familiar trope of texts on screen. Kara calls her friend, a brilliant voice performance by Wendy Lee Szany, and even the dialogue becomes a familiar homage that brought a smile to this viewers face. The language spoken here, and throughout, is flawlessly natural and never seems scripted though, even being unafraid to use curse words which, in any non-scripted conversation, an average person would certainly employ. We also get a well-edited news report or two which are important in establishing things. A man is missing, presumed dead from a stolen vehicle which clues us in to a potential killer on the loose in the area. But also we're told that it has been forty years since a night of 14 brutal murders in this town. This brilliantly lets us know, without heavy-handed exposition, that we are in the world of the first two Halloween movies, the sequels and remakes don't matter and that we, the audience, know that Michael Myers is real. This revelation coupled with lingering shots of doors and open spaces (and with the help of the brilliant music) builds a perfect sense of creeping dread throughout. It's also amazing how well all of the P.O.V shots are recreated. As is the twist reveal of a savvy and unafraid Kara foiling her charge, Danny, in his attempt to scare her.
As we follow Kara returning Danny to bed we get some more important background information. Referencing the news report Danny asks if the "boogeyman" (Myers, as referred to in the original film) is real. Kara assures him that "he" is just an old town legend, returning Danny's clown mask to a board which contains masks from various horror movies (spot the Easter Eggs) including the infamous Shatner mask of Michael Myers. It's genius here how Myers is framed within the narrative. Both literally, in the dead centre of the mask board, but also that he has become almost a folk myth. We know he's real but he's regarded as being as fictional as the wearers of these other masks. This clever post-modern touch brought to mind the movie Scream and how it did this so well, utilising the fictional Stab movies as fake representations of real events.
The camera begins to stalk Kara through the house and the use of light and dark, along with the aforementioned lingering on doors, ramps up the tension in a deft but subtle way. The way that we see a set of knives foregrounded in one shot and return to see that one is missing is so good. As is the shot of a blurry shape behind Kara inside the house, which we see but she remains frighteningly unaware of. The fact that Kara is not portrayed as a weak victim is great too, speaking to our times and the increasing strength of the final girl as Kara picks up a poker to defend herself and actively explores the dark areas. The use of Kara's cell phone light to illuminate her way is another great use of modern technology which wouldn't have existed in 1978. Very clever. The camera following Kara as she runs is definitely laudable too, not appearing like it's just shaking around being held by an unsteady, running cameraman.
The fact that we intercut this action with returns to Danny's room is another brilliant touch, terrifyingly revealing that his central mask is gone. The reveal of Myers in a darkened garage is also great. Whilst it fails as a jump scare for me, it succeeds precisely by being not over the top in an attempt to frighten everybody, so although it's not scary it is both realistic and creepy. Credit also to the panning shots through corridors.
The ending of the short came too soon, but continues the brilliance. The idea of showing a broken Kara as the evil escapes into a suddenly vast, open world is beautifully nihilistic. Yes, it invokes the original movie but also for me serves as a metaphor for how terror can be all around us. Myers is continually more of a concept than a solid thing. Hence "The Shape".
In conclusion, as you probably guessed, I absolutely loved this short. As I've praised what I liked throughout I tried hard to find criticisms and struggled. I also have to mention just how good all of the performances are, but Hancock in particular shines. After much thought I came up with that it's too short, but that's in the short's win column as I really wanted to see more. I also thought the general feel of the cinematography was only about 90% to Hollywood standards, but again this is an amateur company so kudos for that. Basically watch the (familiar) credits as everyone involved deserves to be applauded. Top notch stuff all round.
***** (5/5)
MM
