Short Films - Spectres and Shadows - Festival Reviews

OK/NOT OK (Directed by Pardeep Sahota) 

Akin to a Black Mirror episode on steroids, with a dash of truly dark humour, is the phenomenal short directed by Pardeep Sahota. The alarmingly potent 'OK/NOT OK' is a bold take on the terrifying evolution of human connection as we see Loretta (Bairavi Manoharan) tackle her relationship within the alarming confines of the modern world. The increasingly turbulent narrative is met with a static, locked-off camera that does not sway even once throughout the entire film, exacerbating the entrapment within the devastating world Loretta now experiences life in. 

The Birdwatcher (Directed by Ryan Mackfall) 

'The Birdwatcher' plunges its viewers deep into the uncanny abyss, where themes including isolation are explored through a cosmic, almost Lovecraftian lens. The short film follows investigators (Mary Woodvine and Rimca Karmakar) as they attempt to solve the strange disappearance of a birdwatcher (Craig Russell). As the duo happen upon the birdwatcher's rural hut, a figuratively desolate and unearthly portal into a haunting setting is opened. As such, the film not only grips tightly onto its metaphorical analogies of the world, but it also immerses itself into a land of visually stunning horror as the film nears its melancholic conclusion.

Don't Look (Directed by Danny Murphy) 

Filmed by a predominantly deaf crew and produced on a micro-budget, 'Don't Look' is an unnerving short horror that speaks to the freedom of independent filmmaking, with the film offering an incredibly fresh and inclusive take on spine-chilling genre cinema. The film sees four friends (Olly Rhodes, Danny Murphy, Valor Grey, and Morgan Colquhoun) visit an old house in the middle of the woods, where they play an occult game of 'Don't Look', requiring them to keep their eyes locked shut; otherwise, deadly supernatural hell will be unleashed. Entirely riveting until the very end and oozing sinister appeal is the remarkable Don't Look. 

The Fairy Moon (Directed by Craig Williams) 

Starring none other than James Swanton, Johnny Vivash and Julia Davis, whose combined credits include 'Nighty Night'(2004-05), 'Book of Monsters' (2018) and 'Host' (2020), is the genre-bending and macabre 'The Fairy Moon'. The short film opens with Roger (Vivash) standing patiently, when suddenly a bizarre man (Swanton) appears scarily jovial, asking what would happen if he were to push Roger. What unfolds is 12 minutes of genuine nightmare-fuel as we watch the walls of normality collapse around the peculiar encounter. This eerie short is odd, freakish, strange and yet all so mystifying and almost folkloric with its superstitious aura and unnatural sense of place. 

Catch the 'Spectres and Shadows' short films on Sunday, 28th September at 13:30 at this year's Dead Northern Film Festival 

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