Dead Northern Film Festival (2024) Short Films Day 1 – Scares Aplenty

Posted on by Jim Cox

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Returning for its 6th year, the Dead Northern Film Festival is back to deliver another top line-up of spooky shorts and features to one of the world’s most haunted cities–York, England. With over 34 short films, 12 feature films, and 5 music videos spread across 3 days, the festival is sure to include something for all horror fans.

Student Shorts Feature

Tasty Tongue

Tasty Tongue is a Taiwanese horror short, written and directed by Pearl Zheng. A-Zhe, who constantly cursed others, encountered a mysterious and beautiful woman, Mia, bringing the roasting tongue for him to enjoy, until A-Zhe discovered that those he had cursed had become the tasty tongues on the dining table…

An incredibly atmospheric depiction of disassociation and cannibalism, Tasty Tongue implements an amazingly stylish level of cinematography, a subtly minimal score, and impressive practical special effects to weave a tale that oozes charm. Additionally, the use of lighting and shadows drench every environment with an oppressive atmosphere, portraying a very grim and unforgiving world our protagonist is a victim of.

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Wick

Wick is an American horror short, directed by Kayling Iris Taylor. A young girl’s life is inexplicably bound to a mysterious candle that, if extinguished, spells her doom- a deadly secret revealed when a disbelieving friend snuffs it out at a slumber party, inadvertently cursing herself to protect her own flickering flame or face the same fate. 

Casting light on bullying experienced by kids in their everyday lives, Wick takes this premise and imbues a refreshingly unique concept of this age-old problem. While seemingly over the top as a premise, the narrative still breathes an air of believability. Kids being kids, they certainly wouldn’t believe such a premise and would rather test out said theory—even if it meant risking the life of another. Fully driven by its tiny cast of three teenage girls, each performs admirably in their respective roles. However, Inez Hubbard’s portrayal as the victim is certainly the highlight of this incredibly short horror. 

Strings

Strings is an English horror short, written and directed by Ava Pearson, Eleanor Smith, and Nina Zandvliet. Sally joins a dream summer trip to Sicily with her childhood bestie Poppy, hoping to reconnect before they start university. Confronted with Poppy’s volatile new friend Alex, Sally is strangely drawn to the traditional puppets decorating their villa, and the strings that bind the two friends threaten to rip them apart. The film is produced by students aged 16-20 as part of Project Paradiso, a cross-cultural UK-Italy educational filmmaking initiative from Young Film Academy (YFA).

Taking the haunted doll trope and flipping it on its head, Strings utilises a distinctive narrative of the victim becoming the doll. Delivering some impressive yet subtle special effects, the prosthetics are painfully realistic and are showcased adroitly to maximize their impact.

Did You Get That?

Did You Get That? is a faux YouTube documentary, Directed by Jude Brownhill. Ross begins to question the morality of having narcissistic non-believer Sean as co-host on his supernatural investigation show. When investigating a legendary cryptid with a demonic mythos, they learn that some forces are not to be exploited.

Presented in a found footage format of a small-time YouTube channel, Did You Get That? utilises its shoestring budget as a feature rather than a bug to present a purposely inept depiction of content creators. With some intentionally amateurish performances and low-fidelity production values, all the focus was poured into the short’s creature design in an impressive display of an anthropomorphic man/bird cryptid. 

Next Please

Next Please, a Dutch animated horror short directed by Eva Bonnevits, turns an ordinary doctor’s appointment into a surreal nightmare. Drawing from personal fear, Bonnevits plunges the audience into a feverish, never-ending visit to the doctor—one straight out of hell. The film’s use of warped perspectives and exaggerated, grotesque scenarios crafts an unsettling experience that lingers, leaving viewers with a sense of unease that makes their skin crawl.

Playing on the juvenescent fear of hospitals and needles, Next Please effortlessly portrays an exceptionally kenitic horror short. Providing zero dialog, the score plays a major part in the impending atmosphere–providing an intense but family-friendly look at its horror.

Dead Body

Dead Body is an English queer horror short directed by J Taylor-Jones. A non-binary individual is trapped, fearful of something trying to break in. As they try to protect themself, their chances of escaping a monster with a familiar face diminish fast.

A poignant exploring the difficulties faced by the LGBTQ+ community, Dead Body personifies internal conflict of a past life, dead-naming, etc through the eyes of those who suffer. Utilizing an amazing use of neon red and pink lighting, not only are scenes drenched in colour but also aid in creating a large amount of obscuration through shadows–creating an incredibly moody atmosphere throughout.

The Bloke in the Boot

The Bloke in the Boot is an English horror comedy short written and directed by Taylor Caddick. Somewhere in Northern England, Mogg accidentally murders his driving examiner. Entrusting his best friend Gaps,  the duo embark to Wales in an effort to clear out their bloodied car boot. However, things are hardly plain sailing.

Side-splittingly funny from start to finish, The Bloke in the Boot features some incredible chemistry from its two leads. Bouncing back and forth between each other, both protagonists create an unending stream of comedic timing and reactions to an outlandish situation. Additionally, with an unexpected twist ending, the short honestly blew all of my expectations away and left me wanting more of the comedically inept duo.

The Journey Home

The Journey is a queer horror short directed by Noah Lei Underwood that explores duality through two parallel worlds of light and darkness. In one, a liberated trans man revels in a lush, serene idyll, while in the other, a creature is grotesquely warped and tormented by its bindings.

Displaying an incredibly expressive introspection of self-acceptance, The Journey Home explores the duality of life experienced by members of the LGBTQ+ community. The struggles of society’s overall acceptance of transition and the constant admonition of their past life cause both to exist simultaneously, developing a figurative splitting of personality presented in a beautifully artistic way.

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Mysterious Shorts Feature

Les Bêtes

Les Bêtes is an American stop-motion animation, directed by Michael Granberry. A mysterious rabbit with a set of magic keys summons a host of strange creatures to entertain a wicked king and his decadent court.

Beginning its concept in 2020 as a “Covid passion project”, Les Bêtes was conceived and produced with little to no budget at all. From the sets being created from recycled materials to the plasticine models from decades-old projects being repurposed, every aspect of the short comes from recycled material and cost nothing at all. Presented in a similar style to the macabre stop-motion work of Polish-Russian animator, Ladislas Starevich’s work, Les Bêtes is a fantastical, neigh-on ethereal experience and a masterful execution of the stop-motion medium.

VHX

VHX is an American stop-motion animation directed by Alisa Stern. A collection of home movies languish on a shelf, longing to be watched again. Little do they know, there’s a fate far worse than being forgotten.

Utilising old VHS tapes as the character models, VHX is certainly a poignant reminder of how this outdated medium was so closely tied to capturing memorable moments of the past. Additionally, those of a certain age understand the devastation caused by ‘accidentally’ taping over these precious memories. VHX makes use of this concept and portrays an inventively unique concept of a VHS zombie apocalypse in a stunning display of stop motion animation.

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Merikurio

Merikurio is a French horror short directed by Sébastien Pesle. In the Basque Country, a gigolo flirting with very old women has no idea what kind of evil forces he will deal with…

What would you be willing to do to cure your impotence? Would you go to a medical professional? Or would you venture to your local cave witch, undergoing horrific body horror and satanic rituals to make pp strong? Merikurio takes the latter and runs with it wholeheartedly. Providing some incredible practical effects, over-the-top acting, and mindboggling narrative, the short is a darkly comedic horror with plenty of gross-out moments (vulva jumpscare) and one of the highlights of the short film featured at the festival.

Fisitor

Fisitor, a Welsh horror short directed by Llŷr Titus, follows Ioan as he grapples with the grief of losing his husband while being hunted by a nightmarish creature rooted in Welsh folklore.

Set against the backdrop of Christmas Eve, this melancholic tale weaves together themes of loss and the eerie tradition of Mari Lwyd, a Welsh wassailing custom. Yet, unlike the more familiar festive folklore, Fisitor twists the narrative into something far more chilling. The film’s use of minimal light—mostly from a log fire and candles—casts flickering shadows, heightening the claustrophobic tension and creating a hauntingly atmospheric experience.

 

Lord of the Free Range

Lords of the Free Range is an English horror comedy, written and directed by Simon Dymond, with additional writing from Joe Willis. A ‘Stuck-in-his-ways’ father slowly loses his family to a vegan cult after his son is recoginsed as their Messiah.

A darkly comedic take on religious sects and the dangers of being impressionable, Lord of the Free Range utilises a distinctively quirky narrative and fantastic performances from the entire cast to weave a hilarious tale of reincarnation. Whether the short is actually criticizing veganism is up for debate. However, with great direction and fantastic comedic timing, Lord of the Free Range is a laugh riot from beginning to end.

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