31 Nights of Halloween: Shadow

Shadow (2020)
Starring: Valeska Miller

Director: Benjamin Howdeshell

Rating: Four of Ten Stars

A woman (Miller) awakens to find her husband missing from their bedroom... and a strange shadow creeping about their run-down house.

"Shadow" feels more like a clip from a feature film than a proper short. There's no set-up to speak of and no discernible story line--it starts nowhere and goes nowhere over it's five minute running time. Reading the teaser summary on YouTube only makes it worse, as absolutely nothing mentioned in it appears on-screen... and that summary doesn't answer pressing questions any viewer has while watching--starting with "hasn't that woman ever heard of a light switch?!"

While this is a great little film clip from a technical perspective--it's got great camerawork, great lighting, and fantastic sound-mixing/Foley work--and actress Veleska Miller was so interesting to watch that it I went looking for other things she'd done, this feels more like a demo reel or a bit of film made to raise money for the actual project, but it's not a satisfying thing to watch if you're looking for a horror film.

I don't usually include films that I give low ratings to in the 31 Nights of Halloween selection, but this is a rare exception, because it is such a well-made and well-acted clip, if not an actual short film.

31 Nights of Halloween: Withorwithout

Withorwithout (2018)

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Carsten Nordgaard, and Parcels

Director: Benjamin Howdeshell

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

This, ladies and gentlemen, THIS is how you make a music video AND a horror short film. Every piece of tonight's selection work together, with the film supporting the song and the song supporting the film--both as a soundtrack and as a foreshadowing of what's to come. (I can't say too much more without spoiling the twists to the story, but I assure you that you'll love it! And it's even better for the fact that we get to watch Milla Jovovich give a great performance!)