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We Summoned A Demon/The Toothbrush/Salvatore



If you are into short horror movies, then YouTube is a paradise! Don't know where to start or feeling overwhelmed? Then let me recommend these three channels:

  1. Omeleto
  2. Alter
  3. Screamfast (by far the best one)
These are some of the gems that I found during my explorations of the last month.

We Summoned A Demon


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By far my big favourite of the moment! Two young men try to summon a demon in order to look cool for the girls. But when something goes wrong during the ritual, the two men get a lot more than they had bargained for...

This is not a typical horror movie; the movie relies less on jump scares, but more on a creepy atmosphere and a healthy dose of humour. It's all in the details: the small record player that is part of the ritual, the way they try to exert their power over the demon by guessing its name and so on.

Chris McInroy is the award-winning director of this gem. I am still exploring his channel and when I find anything else interesting I will let you know.

The Toothbrush

This is the link where you can see the movie.

To be honest, this attracted me by its title. How can a toothbrush be haunted or cursed or whatever?

It's evening and a young boy brushes his teeth before going to bed. He uses a musical toothbrush that only stops playing when all teeth are clean. In the meantime, the father is having a discussion with a friend who claims that all the chemicals in toothpaste actually ruin your teeth and that it is even better not to clean your teeth at all.

What happens next can be summarized in one sentence: the toothbrush will change the friend's opinion forever!

This is another perfect mix of humour and creepiness! I also appreciated the simple and original idea. The 3 filmmakers who are behind this short horror movie are called GPx Horror. The language spoken in the horror short by the way is Hmong (originally from southeast Asia), but there are subtitles.

Salvatore

This is the link where you can find the movie.

The last one I would like to review today is very different from the first two. This is real horror and - I know this sounds contradictory - beautiful.

Salvatore seems to enjoy a good life. He is sitting in a comfortable armchair, drinking a glass of red wine, smoking a cigar and listening to an opera. But when the camera pans out, you realize that he is actually in a home for elderly people. A male nurse enters his room because it's bathtime and treats him in a humiliating and demeaning way. Will Salvatore accept his fate or does he take revenge?

The beauty in this short movie is evoked by the music and the melancholic atmosphere. It is clear however from the beginning that Salvatore and the nurse can't stand each other and that conflict will emerge. But to what extent?

Dutch filmmakers are behind Salvatore and they are supported by Alter, one of the channels I mentioned at the beginning of this review. By the way, the movie has got a brilliant ending, which put a smile on my face!

So these were three short horror movies that made a huge impression on me. On Saturday, I will be back with another Oscar feature!

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