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8 Horror Shorts Show Technology is the True Killer

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Unfriended: Dark Web has hit theaters this weekend giving audiences more reasons to fear technology. It seems only fitting to bring fans a compilation of horror shorts from around the dark recesses of the web that do the same. Many horror directors have embraced the opportunities electronic devices offer to create clever scares, and these creepy films are some of our favorite examples.

Cam Closer (2013)

The only thing scarier than food photography is ghost photography, as one woman finds out when her dull photo-op turns nightmarish. Writer/Director David F. Sandberg’s short film Lights Out launched his Hollywood career, but his other two-minute horror vignettes like Cam Closer deserve just as much attention.

Sandberg has a knack for bait-and-switch scares, and Cam Closer’s ending will leave one bone-chilling image burned into your brain.

Alexia (2013)

A guilt-stricken man whose ex-girlfriend committed suicide after their breakup realizes her spirit may not be ready to let him go yet. We recently spotlighted Andrés Borghi’s supernatural horror short Alexia as a film fans of the first Unfriended should definitely check out for its similarly spooky concept with a more traditional film style.

A. Friend (2015)

Accepting a Facebook friend request from a profile you don’t recognize may not be without its consequences. The creepiest thing about A. Friend is just how plausible it seems to be. This Thinly Sliced short by Erwann Kerroc’h, Amaury Dequé, and Guillaume Le Moal will make you seriously think about deleting your social media accounts.

Pictures (2015)

A woman discovers the photos on her phone are revealing what will happen a few moments in the future…but there is something else lurking in the images. As if seeing malevolent entities on your camera phone wasn’t bad enough, S.L. Allred’s eerie short film Pictures adds clairvoyance to the list of supernatural features. That’s a hell of a camera…

SNAP (2015)

Social media is all about connecting people, but sometimes they may not be people you want to connect with. SNAP is a short film by writer/director Timothée Hochet that shows just how creepy Snapchat can be. Snap at your own risk.

Stalker (2016)

A struggling writer’s phone is stolen by a disturbed individual, who begins uploading unsettling videos to his iCloud. Unable to pass up a golden opportunity, the writer decides not to call the police, and instead uses the material to inspire his next story. Writer/Director Sheikh Shahnawaz’s Stalker plays a dangerous cat and mouse game that unfolds to a satisfying conclusion.

Charlie (2013)

Dan receives a chain letter email instructing him to forward it, or he will face the wrath of a malevolent entity named Charlie. Writer/Director/Producer Luke Mordue brings us this creepy short film, which was part of a challenge to create a horror short in a single night with almost no budget.

Whisper (2017)

A woman is stirred awake in the middle of the night by her Amazon Echo responding to inaudible (and unsettling) voice commands. Writer/Director/Editor Julian Terry’s Whisper is eerily similar to the real-life reports earlier this year of the Alexa enabled devices laughing maniacally all by themselves, and scaring the hell out of numerous owners…But what if it wasn’t just a glitch waking up Alexa?

Do you have any favorite short films that make you want to turn off your electronic devices? Let us know in the comments!

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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