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Horror Short Film Review: ‘Post Mortem Mary’ is a Snapshot of Young Fear

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Written and directed by Joshua Long, Australian horror short Post Mortem Mary has been creeping through film festivals all over the world – including Australia, Mexico, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Norway, Romania, Korea, Scotland, England, and several festivals across America. Clearly, Mary is not one to settle, and it’s paid off.

Post Mortem Mary has nabbed awards for Best Foreign Short Film at Atlanta Film Fest and Idaho Horror Film Fest, and Best Short Film at the prestigious Sitges Film Festival in Spain.

The short is a crawling gothic horror set in 1840’s Australia. We follow young Mary (Stella Charrington) and her mother (Melanie Zanetti) who run a post-mortem photography business together. Mary is – naturally – a bit uneasy around the recently deceased, much to the frustration of her mother.

Their work brings them to a small farmhouse where they meet the devastated mother of their newest subject. As they prepare, Mary’s mother must step outside to comfort her – inconsolable in her grief – leaving Mary alone to confront her fears and get the job done. Mary must do all she can to make the very dead daughter look alive.

via Screamfest Film Festival

Clocking in at just over 9 minutes, the short uses the stillness that’s naturally found in this small, rural setting to slowly build tension. It’s the type of fear that sneaks up on you and squeezes tight.

A driving force in this tension is the string-heavy score by Jesse Breckon-Thomas. The low, humming bass pulls the action forward as frantic, pricking violins push the audience back. It’s a powerful dance that flows well with the cinematography by Ben Nott (Winchester, Jigsaw, Daybreakers).

Post Mortem Mary is shot from the eyeline of its young star, bringing the audience down to her level in order for us to connect with her fear. Mary’s role is one of passive reaction; as a child (on a job, no less), she’s stuck without any real agency. She only has one line of dialogue – a line of fearful protest.

Long plays on that idea of our childhood fears and how they can seem to be justified, even when they’re completely irrational. But unlike a monster under the bed, Mary has good reason to be terrified. She’s working alone with a dead body, which itself is a scary situation, though logically she’s perfectly safe (though anyone who has ever watched a horror movie will recognize that that’s not necessarily true).

via Adelaide Film Festival

Along with the musical score, sound effects play a memorable role when combined with the FX work by Chad Atkinson (Hostel: Part II, Planet Terror, Emmy Award winner for The Pacific). The special makeup effects are so subtle that they blend right in to look – and sound – completely natural.

We’re quite fond of short horror films here at iHorror. A well-made horror short is the perfect appetizer for the full course of a feature; they’re an excellent way to set the tone. A theatre in Brisbane played Post Mortem Mary before a screening of Hereditary, which  – thematically speaking – is a fantastic pairing.

So in that vein, think of this as a “level up” for your movie marathon nights. Before you watch your frightening feature, pre-game with a scary short film that fits the mood. And if you’ve got the chance to see it, Post Mortem Mary is definitely one we’d recommend.

Post Mortem Mary will screen next at the Terror Molins Film Festival in Spain. For additional screenings, you can keep an eye on their Facebook page. You can view the trailer and poster below.

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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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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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