Sublime Short Scares - The Trifecta

Featured:

The Legend Of Beaver Dam: Heads Will Rock 'n Roll!
A Horror Musical Short Film by Sable & Batalion

Taste of Flesh, Taste of Fear: Who Knew Barbies Taste Like Chicken?
A Lesbian Vampire Dolly Short Film by Stacie Ponder

Animal Control: His Pound of Flesh
A Tender Tale of Taxidermy by Kire Paputts

I don't usually review short films, but the above three are truly remarkable, outstanding, and memorable achievements. I just had to do something to help get the word out — though, ironically, I can't say too much about them for fear of spoilage. I won't go into plot, but I will say that even though each of them could not be more different from the other I loved them all equally.

The Legend of Beaver Dam is a rock 'n roll horror comedy that struck me as a fun-loving crisscross between Repo! The Genetic Opera, Glee, and Friday the 13th. The direction, cinematography, acting, special effects, and big musical number are fantastic. I watched the short back-to-back, twice. Then I dropped a line to one of the directors asking him to tell me, please, that they're planning on making a feature film… and the answer is yes! I can't wait for the whole corny, creepy concert.

Taste of Flesh, Taste of Fear is reminiscent of another subversive short using Barbies, (Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story which was done back in the 80s by now-acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes), but it's even more of an homage to 70s sexploitation horror flicks like Lemora, Queens of Evil, and just about anything ever directed by Jess Franco. Yet, Ponder makes this devilish domain all her own with a bizarre blend of black comedy, subtle scares, and dishy dialogue to die for.

The most accomplished and prettiest-looking film of the lot is Animal Control. It's also the most "serious" one by far, with a true emotional core and some amazing, Academy Award level acting from both man and beast. It's the story of an animal control officer -slash- taxidermist (played by Julian Richings) and the little dog (played by Dekka) who somehow manages to escape the scalpel… for awhile, anyway. I'm a hardcore animal-lover, and so I have to say some of the scenes were pretty squirm-inducing, but overall it is so great it deserves to be seen by absolutely everyone. This mini movie looks like a million bucks… everything from the aforementioned acting, directing and story, to the razor-sharp editing, ultra-realistic effects and props, pin-drop perfect sound, effective set decoration, and crisp, clean cinematography.

Want more?

The Legend of Beaver Dam: http://stumpysam.com
Taste of Flesh, Taste of Fear: http://finalgirl.blogspot.com/
Animal Control: http://animalcontrolfilm.com/

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson