31 Nights of Halloween: "We represent the Lollipop Guild..."

 

"We represent the Lollipop Guild, and we don't tolerate scabs."

(These pictures feature a fake version [AI generated] of actress Valeska Miller. Click here for the real thing.)

In Observation of International Dance Day

The Ballerina (2021)
Starring: Valeska Miller
Director: Aaron Fradkin
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A late-night rehearsal turns into a nightmare for a young dancer (Miller).

Since mid-2020, Aaron Fradkin has been putting a short horror film onto the Social House YouTube Channel every month. We came upon his excellent work while preparing for the 2020 31 Nights of Halloween, and we suspect his name will come up quite a bit during the 2021 Halloween festivities around here; his output has only gotten better over the past year. (Selections are already underway, but we start getting serious around late August.)

Fradkin released "The Ballerina" early in the month of April, and as soon as we watched it, we knew it had to be featured here on International Dance Day. (We'd already added a picture of star Valeska Miller to this year's observance at Shades of Gray, so this couldn't be more perfect!)  

And speaking of perfect, there isn't a second of wasted time in this film's 8-minute running time. It stars by establishing the lonely emptiness of the dance studio late at night and continues building the tension and mystery as the horror really starts. That said, there were a few moments at about the halfway mark, where I feared Fradkin might be losing his grip on the horror-mood as I found myself increasingly reminded of a famous scene from "Duck Soup" starring the Marx Brothers... but that ultimately made the horror more intense when it exploded in full-force.

The curiously long-limbed Valeska Miller is the perfect actor for this brief excursion into weird horror, especially because she is a classically trained dancer. The genius of the casting is even clearer during the last few minutes of the film and the end credits sequence.

"The Ballerina" is almost a Ten-star film. It misses perfection only because of a special effect near the end that doesn't quite come off as well as it needs to. Otherwise, it's spot-on technically, and brilliantly performed by its star. I encourage you to take a few minutes to check it out right now, by clicking below.

And when you're done, you can visit Shades of Gray for more celebrations of dancers and International Dance Day by clicking here. You can also see more Valeska Miller by clicking here. 

31 Nights of Halloween: Klown Skool

Klown Skool (2020)

Starring: Valeska Miller

Director: Aaron Fradkin

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A young woman (Miller) becomes the owner of a haunted television set.

"Klown Skool" is a great example of how to make an effective mini-horror film. Its premise is swiftly and effectively set up in the beginning, and we are given insight into the main character's motivation and personality, as well as that of the film's monster. We also get a complete story, with a beginning, a middle, and and an end. Writer/Director Aaron Fradkin did as more in five minutes than some filmmakers do in ninety... and which only the best makers of short films seem to be able to do at all. I also love the fact the film continues as the credits flash across the screen. (My only complaint is that I wish they'd been a little more legible... and makes me rate it Nine of Ten... but it's a 9.9999 rating.)

"Klown Skool" is one of the best films featuring during this year's 31 Nights of Halloween. Check it out! And be sure to visit Social House Films' YouTube channel by clicking here. Fradkin posts a new short film every month... and he's a filmmaker who is either wasting his talent in that corner of the web, or he's a filmmaker who is destined for great things!

Saturday Scream Queen: Valeska Miller

Valeska Miller was born in Malibu, California, in 1987. She is a classically trained ballerina who has been working as an actress and model since 2008. She has so far mostly appeared in thrillers and comedies, but she completed filming on the fantasy film "Empires of the Deep" (no release date announced yet) and has starred in two excellent horror short films in 2020--both of which you can watch as part of this year's 31 Nights of Halloween celebration. (If you haven't already seen "Shadow", click here. Her second appearance will come later today.)

Some might say it's a bit premature to crown Valeska Miller as a Scream Queen... but we've liked what we've seen of her so much that we hope we'll be seeing her in a lot more horror films to come. Then we'll be able to say, "We knew she was going to be great!"

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.