Be Right Back follows a seven-year-old girl left alone in her home. When someone knocks on her door, she struggles to believe it is her mother or something sinister. Through excellent production design and cinematography, this film successfully captures what it is like for a child to be left alone and the horrors of what may proceed. The lack of editing during the scenes of tension brought a sense of uneasiness, which paralleled how the protagonist was feeling. The long, narrow hallways provide a feeling of discomfort and claustrophobia, which enhances the mood of the scenario. Despite the ten-minute runtime, the filmmakers bring the stakes to the tier of a feature-length film. 

What brings this movie down for me is the ending. While I enjoyed the final moments as a twist, I feel the narrative would’ve improved if it stuck to a child’s nightmare rather than the more sinister approach. Nonetheless, there is real promise from Lucas Paulino and Gabe Ibáñez as they have already mastered the craft of suspense through slow but impactful tension-building. 

La Croix sees Jade, a young graphic designer, encounter strange phenomena after practicing a ritual with her friend. While I loved the presentation and imagery-centered scares, this needed to be feature-length to complete the story. Joris Fleurot developed a practical world of ghostly happenings that needed more time to become effective. The first half of the film feels more like the audience is playing catch-up rather than building something of emotional merit. The second half is where the film goes all in on the scares. Through integral sound design and ominous lighting, Fleurot shows true talent in portraying ghostly horror, which I would put on par with most Hollywood filmmakers of today. 

Even though I found many aspects to be rushed and underdeveloped, I found the experience as a whole to be worthwhile due to Fleurot’s vision. If this premise became a feature-length film, I would be sure to check it out. 

Dark Mommy follows a 911 operator whose average night on the job turns sinister after a group of prank calls turn deadly. I loved how this film utilized body horror. Through articulate sound design and committed physical performances, the film created an uncomfortability that I was not expecting when the movie began. The repetitious nature of the script makes it easy to believe that the protagonist has worked this job for years while building tension for the latter half of the film. The child’s voice performance is just as impactful as the work done physically by the rest of the cast, conveying the emotion needed to build the scares.

The acting in the first few minutes is one of the major setbacks of Dark Mommy. The co-workers bring an unclear tone to the film through their diction and facial expressions, feeling haphazard compared to the level on which the rest of the cast is operating. The final reveal isn’t anything spectacular, mainly staying to genre conventions rather than doing something more powerful. While it isn’t the most powerful or horrific watch, it is worthy of a short film length due to the technical elements and some standout performances.

Nubes sees a daughter who discovers a dark secret in her father’s house, leading her to choose between right and wrong. Watching this film was an empty experience for me. Even though I was taken aback by the beginning reveal, I found the rest of the film to lack the heart and sense of urgency needed for a genre film like this. The film attempts to tackle ideas of familial trauma, but there isn’t enough development to make the experience worthwhile. The orchestral score and colorless production design help convey the mood of the environment, but the story didn’t deliver the thrills or thematic concepts necessary to be called fulfilling.

While I didn’t find many overall takeaways, I did appreciate the style that Edu Escudero utilized to tell the story. Most of the horror is viewed through the atmosphere, and I found it to perfectly complement the bleak and dreadful tone. Even though I wasn’t attracted to the story, I enjoyed it as an exercise in horror filmmaking.

The Horror block will screen at Indy Shorts Film Festival on July 25 at 7:45 at the Living Room Theaters and in Indianapolis, and virtually through July 28. Buy tickets here.

The Indiana Spotlight block offers almost 20 short films, providing a potent mix of narrative and documentary short films which showcase Indiana’s unique personality, and the talents of Indiana filmmakers. Though Saving Superman concerns an autistic man from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, its directors, Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian and Adam Oppenheim, are Hoosiers. Mirpoorian has tackled similar subject matter in films like Safe Place and Greener Pastures; namely, the deeply human stories which often fall between the cracks of the small towns that make up this country. The film serves as a character study of Jonathan, an autistic man who idolizes Superman, even going so far as to dress up and march in the Glen Ellyn Fourth of July parade every year. Oppenheim and Mirpoorian arrive at a place of genuine emotion, but if anything is missing from Saving Superman, it’s more time.

Just as individuals make up a community, individual neighborhoods have the ability to exude their own personalities, and that’s exactly that ¡HAWTHORNE! an indy west side story is all about. Josh Chitwood’s film explores the Indianapolis west side community of Hawthorne by digging in to its past, present, and future. The neighborhood has dealt with all manner of socio-economic issues over the years, from a brush with the Klan to its current status as a melting pot of ethnicities and backgrounds. Since I’m also making a documentary about a specific Indianapolis west side neighborhood, ¡HAWTHORNE! shows that there’s no shortage of varied stories to be found, even within a few square miles of each other.

Just a few square miles from where Daniel screens, you can find the subject and the venue showcased in Alex Rodgers’ documentary. For better and worse, the film feels first and foremost like a project amongst friends, as it tells the quirky story of Daniel Jacobsen, one of the founders of the Kan Kan Cinema in Indianapolis. Though the film could easily be expanded more to dive into all of the nooks and crannies of Daniel’s life, Daniel remains a fun look at creative passion and how it can be manifested to better the community.

Just like Daniel, The Invisible Crown approaches an inside look at an Indiana creator. In this case, Hannah Lindgren (who also co-produces the film) takes us inside her struggle with endometriosis, and the struggles which women often face in medical diagnoses. Lindgren holds nothing back, displaying all her vulnerabilities as she approaches a fourth surgery to get a handle on her disease, and the results are emotionally rewarding.

One of the block’s few narrative films, Places We Knew, actually doesn’t even take place in this country, much less this state. Writer and director Oliver William Staton shows that you really can’t go home again, even when your home is halfway across the world. It’s the semi-familiar story of a Japanese-American young adult returning to his boyhood home in rural Japan as he tries to reconcile with his mother. Though the set-up is well worn territory, Staton lets the drama play out naturally, which is especially rewarding in a genre where emotions are frequently heightened.

Speaking of unique films, Kurtis Bowersock’s Physical Matters is one of the festival’s most unique offerings, in both style and substance. The film’s threadbare story follows a pair of marine biologists as they dissect a beached whale. Animated with a kind of watercolor aesthetic, Physical Matters is short, sweet, and to the point, but there’s an intangible heart that bleeds through after the credits roll. Indie animation is rare on this scale, and Bowersock makes it look easy.

The Indiana Spotlight blocks will screen at Indy Shorts Film Festival on July 23 at 7 and 7:30pm at the Living Room Theaters and in Indianapolis, and virtually through July 28. Buy tickets here.