Short Films | Wildside Cinema

Film Review: Lugones’ ‘The Devil’s Toy’ (2010) Packs a Diabolical Punch for a Short Film

Horror, Short Films, T. Strauss, Thriller No Responses »

Nov 032011

Promo Poster

The Devil’s Toy has sat hidden away at the back of Grandpa’s (Joe Capozzi) closet since his return from tour of duty in WWII. Acquired for a horrifying price during the raid of a Nazi concentration camp, he’s kept it safely concealed for decades. But one night, his young grandson (Liam Makrogiannis) and his best friend (Alex Marshall) decide to sneak it out of the closet and find out for themselves what’s kept inside the mysterious old box…

Ironically, one of the most common annoyances encountered in the medium of The Short Film is that most short films are too damned long. I’d say that a good 75% of all the short films I’ve ever seen could’ve used one final polish with a pair of scissors. It’s a tricky medium, and very difficult to get right from a Continue reading »

Film Review: Long’s ‘Axed’ (2010) Redefines the Aussie Horror Short Film

Action, B. Harris, Horror, Short Films, Zombies No Responses »

Aug 302011

DVD Artwork

A family get-together goes to hell in a hand basket when government officials crash the party, force everybody into a nearby forest and subject them to tests against their will in order to detect a dangerous viral infection. As each infected are detected and quickly executed, the the “festivities” are cut short when a horde of rampaging undead tear thru the forest, forcing the military to fend for themselves and their surviving prisoner Bruce to flee for his life.

Now on the run from the military, the ferocious infected and undead, flesh-eating shamblers, Bruce has no choice but to pick up an axe and fight for whatever time he’s got left.

Joshua Long’s Axed claims to be “The most violent Australian zombie move ever made!” which might be considered a rather bold proclamation to make but having only seen Continue reading »

Film Review: Nerdhaus Demolishes Big Budget Horror with Their Thirteen Minute Short Film, ‘Deus Irae’ (2010)

B. Harris, Demons, Horror, Short Films 2 Responses »

Aug 072011

Festival Poster

Writhing in unimaginable hatred beneath the surface of reality, seeking to corrupt and destroy the innocent, are a vile race of spiritual monstrosities; demons so horrific, so deadly, they can only be vanquished by a special team of priests skilled in the ancient rites of exorcism. Equipped with the Word of God, the destructive weapons of man and the courage of lions, the “Deus Irae” investigate the supernatural, isolate Continue reading »

Sumner’s ‘Lewis’ (2011) Recalls Supernatural Thrillers of the ’70s

Horror, Short Films, Thriller 9 Responses »

Jul 292011

Theatrical Poster

Welcome back home to the style of the seventies and to The Devil a Daughter. Anthony Sumner’s Lewis, is a throw back to the Satanic nightmare pictures of the seventies. Remember when Satanic orgies mingled with Black Masses and all you had to do was find a sacrifice? Lewis remembers this.

A woman and her daughter return to the town where she was orphaned as a child. With flashbacks of trauma and her daughter’s imaginary friend, we’re taken down the twisted road to unravel the mystery of their heritage. The little, sunny town of (insert David Cronenberg reference here) Kronanburg, with its not Continue reading »

Film Review: There’s a ‘Worm’ (2010) in His Apple & Darkness in His Heart

Drama, Horror, J. Holderness, Short Films, Thriller No Responses »

Jan 192011

Poster Artwork

A day in the life of a high school teacher. That’s right but something is not quite right with Geoffrey Dodd, behind the veneer of a kindly, quiet everyman lurks something so bitter and dark. Cynical and possibly deadly are the thoughts running through Mr. Dodd’s brain.

This film causes immense discomfort from start to finish and it’s mostly due to the written dialogue delivered impeccably by Robert Nolan. It couldn’t have been easy as it’s such a layered character. His performance is impressive to say the least. This dialogue rings true which makes it that much more scary when you realize that there are probably plenty of people running around with this type of thought process in their heads. I couldn’t help but think Continue reading »

Film Review: When The ‘Dym’ (2007) Clears, Only Insanity is Left

Experimental, Horror, J. Holderness, Short Films No Responses »

Jan 182011

Poster Artwork

This short film is given to us via Poland. It is silent so no need to fear subtitles folks. This film takes a young man on a journey through insanity and the language via this film is universal. Madness is portrayed from beginning to end. We don’t know why the young man is mad but we don’t need to. We know, he just is.

The images in this film are slick and modern-gothic in nature. Disturbing and wonderfully ambiguous. The viewer will relate and see the meaning of each and every shot differently. I like a film like this that makes the viewer think and to do it in eight minutes is an indicator of the talent of director Cisiecki and his crew Continue reading »

Film Review: Something Evil Lurks on ‘Kill Devil Hill’ (2010)

Horror, J. Holderness, Short Films No Responses »

Dec 102010

Promo Still

This tale set in North Carolina admittedly opens with the cliché statement that this is a “reenactment” of a true crime. I will admit that my heart sunk a bit when I saw those words. In my opinion, this would have been just fine without them. Still they managed to pull this off even with said cliché opening.

We start off with a mother and her two sons at bedtime and the story ensues from that point on. The acting is very natural and that includes the kids. Not an easy feat if you’ve ever worked with children. The father is also shortly introduced to us Continue reading »

Film Review: Kipp Makes ‘Contact’ (2010) with The Dark Side of Human Nature

Drama, Experimental, Horror, J. Holderness, Short Films No Responses »

Oct 012010

Poster Artwork

Contact is a beautiful study in black & white, a tale of loss and possibly even awakening. It will all depend on the viewer. This is driven by emotions with no dialogue to speak of. We start our journey here with two very sad people who have obviously suffered an unimaginable loss. The camera draws us in and every shot seems to carry the weight of the actors emotions. It’s as if the lens and the actors are as one entity filling the screen with sadness, guilt, loss and eventually healing.

Zoe Daelman Chlanda gives a startlingly brave performance. She draws us in with subtlety rather than over the top expressions. Her vulnerability is front and center. This dark artistic Continue reading »

Film Review: Golden Age (2006)

Exploitation, J. Felton, Short Films No Responses »

Sep 182007

DVD Artwork

There are two kinds of movies that I usually don’t enjoy. One is the anthology, for reasons I don’t have the time or space to go into, the other being the short movie. The reason being is I usually find that the short movie is over before I have had a chance to involve myself in the story. Over recent years though that is beginning to change. Nacho Cerda’s Aftermath and Genesis, along with the recent short Death Line have shown me that sometimes less is more, especially when the budget is quite obviously limited.

Quite why low budget movie makers always insist on dragging a movie out to 80 or 90 minutes or more is beyond me. Especially when the quality isn’t always there. Don’t get me wrong, there are many low budget full length features Continue reading »