9. Human Form (2014) Length: 11:33
And now some horror from Korea. A young schoolgirl goes to a plastic surgeon with a drawing of what she wants to look like, but said surgeon turns her down, but before the girl leaves we see the surgeon’s bizarre, pointed doll-like face. At home the girl has dinner with her family, all of whom have the same face. She wants to look like everyone else to fit in, and she will do whatever it takes to get the look she wants.
It’s a clever film that makes us ask ourselves if what we and the media perceive as beauty is truly beautiful. And like most of the films on this list, the film is more creepy and isn’t full of scares. We never get to see the girl’s face in the end, we just see her families blank expressions as they look upon their daughter.
10. The Cat With Hands (2001) Length: 3:31
We open to see two men drawing water from a well, the older of the two tells the story of a young boy who came face to face with a strange creature, a cat with hands. The man continues as he realises the person he’s talking to isn’t what he seems.
It’s a strange and surreal film with bizarre imagery. Switching between stop motion and live action, the film makes you feel like you’re watching a strange dream, or rather, a nightmare.
11. LOT254 (2012) Length: 2:59
A man who collects cameras (played by Adrian Schiller) has an old camera labeled LOT254. The camera seems to be broken, so the man goes about restoring said camera, which he successfully does. However, upon viewing movie inside, he probably wishes he hadn’t bothered.
The film uses jump scares to shock the viewer, but it’s not all about the scares. The camera collector’s room is dark, claustrophobic and full of ancient cameras, giving it a distinctly dead feel. The collector’s fear rubs off on us, leading to a terrifying finale.
12. Mama (2008) Length: 2:43
Another short film that was turned into a feature length film here, Mama opens with a girl sleeping, a second girl backs her way into the room and tells her sister that they have to go. Like most of these films, there’s something in the house, a woman who, in a scene that was reshot for the movie, chases them up the stairs. The woman follows them walking right up to the camera before the film ends, leaving the fate of the girls unknown.
A lot of these shorts are set in people’s houses, and there’s a reason for that. Firstly, if you’re making an independent short horror film then it’s cheap to film in your own house or a friend’s house. Secondly, we feel safe in our own houses, and when something invades that supposed safe place it makes us feel vulnerable. The short Mama, like I said, was remade into a full length film, but in my opinion, the creepy monster flick original is much better than the CGI heavy remake.
13. The Outer Darkness part 1 (2015) Length: 24:51
A group of people meet for what seems to be a group therapy session. A young man talks about a voice that lead to his drug addiction. The priest who leads the group introduces Jenny, a new member of the group. She tells the story of how she and her husband attempted to bring back their dead baby girl by playing a spin the wheel type game led by a strange man. Little do they know the penalty for losing is dire.
It’s a highly polished horror short that looks like it could be part of a weekly series, and quite frankly should be. It’s a cautionary tale with a horrifying twist, it’s cool, it’s sleek, it’s stylish, stop reading and start watching
14. The Smiling Man (2015) Length: 7:03
A little girl is home alone watching TV. She follows a trail of balloons (because children are too young to realise when something horrific is up) which leads her to the kitchen where some kind of creature awaits (although he just looks like a guy covered in flour). The creature performs magic for the little girl, who uncharacteristically doesn’t shit herself and run away. The creature wipes blood onto his face… and that’s where I’ll leave you for now.
The film combines atmosphere with intrigue, what is this creature? Who are they? Why are they here? None of these are explained, which just racks up the horror.
15. Un Chien Andalou (1929)
Un Chien Andalou, otherwise known as An Andalusian Dog, is silent short film from 1929, making it the oldest film on this list, and when a film is directed by Luis Buñuel and written by Salvador Dali, you know it’s going to be weird. There’s not much plot to write about, more a series of surrealist images. Opening with a woman having her eyeball sliced open by a straight razor, we see such bizarre images like a man with a hole in his hand where ants crawl out of, and a man dragging two grand pianos in which are two dead horses, and two priests (one of which is played by Salvador Dali himself), all of which appears out of nowhere.
While it is its images which make it so familiar (especially the opening shot), it is more than a collection of bizarre scenes, there’s a lot more going on. Bunuel wanted to insult the French bourgeoisie, but was disheartened when it was a success amongst the bourgeoisie, stating “What can I do about the people who adore all that is new, even when it goes against their deepest convictions, or about the insincere, corrupt press, and the inane herd that saw beauty or poetry in something which was basically no more than a desperate impassioned call for murder?” Famed film critic Roger Ebert called the film the most famous short film ever made, and he was probably right too.
SPECIAL MENTIONS:
When I did this list, I wanted the films to be under 30 minutes, as most lunch breaks are rarely any shorter than 30 minutes, there were however two horror classics that I wanted to talk about, but since they were over 30 minutes they were too long, so I’ve put them separately from the actual list.
Within the Woods (1978) Length: 30:38
https://youtube.com/watch?v=mxQFKjdW2hs
Sam Raimi’s early short is a precursor to the Evil Dead franchise, even including the same camera work where the camera runs through the woods, the swinging bench swinging by itself, and stars Bruce Campbell. A group of friends go to a remote cabin (where have I heard that before?) where one of them desecrates an Indian burial ground. If you’ve seen The Evil Dead, you’ll know what’s coming next.
It’s an interesting film to watch, and a must see for any horror or Sam Raimi fans. The low quality of the film adds to the creepiness, with the camera even cutting out to static every now and then, and while I’m sure that was done on accident, it is something you’d see a lot in found footage films.
La Cabina (1972) Length: 35:50
A classic Spanish horror movie here. A middle aged man enters a phone box to make a call, but finds he can’t get out afterwards, the door’s stuck, and no one can open it. Eventually some men come to see to the box but rather than letting him out, they haul the box onto the back of a truck and parade him around the streets. That’s when the horror sets in.
It’s a classic shock ending that you won’t soon forget, and most of the films on this list, nothing is ever clear. Who are these people who are putting these phone boxes down? How many more of them are there? And why are they doing it?
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