31 Nights of Halloween: Observer

Observer (2017)

Starring: Marcella Raya

Director: Azron Shai

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A young fashion designer (Raya) is bedeviled by a haunted rocking chair.

"Observer" is more of a vignette than an actual short film. In fact, if you go to its YouTube page instead of just watching it from this post, you will find that writer/director Azron Shai explains the haunted chair's back story and how it ended up in ... none of which is evident from anything you'll see on screen. 

It's an interesting back story, and it would have earned the film a higher rating if it had actually made it into the film. Everything about this is very well done--the framing of the scenes and the cinematography in general, the lighting, the sound design are all top notch--and to see just a little bit of story on the screen would have made this an excellent little film. (I could quibble with Zara's reaction when she is awakened in the middle of the night, but I'm just as happy watching Marcella Raya walk around in her underwear while seeming troubled.)

All jokes aside, this is a well-crafted, spooky film that's worth watching. 

31 Nights of Halloween: Ouiji

Today's film gives you insight into the life of that most mysterious of creatures--the solitary writer in his or her natural habitat. (Yes... we do sit around and write in our underwear!)

Oh yeah... it also features a Ouija board with an evil spirit attached. This film is a little too slow moving for its own good, and the set (which is a room in some crewmember's house I assume) left me with a very annoying and distracting question ("why does a writer have four desktop computers sitting around her house?"), but it's still plenty creepy and well worth your time!

Ouiji (2016)
Starring: Laura Overton
Director: Azron Shai
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars