Indy Shorts 2020: Heartland Horror

The Indy Shorts International Film Festival, presented by Heartland Film, is a unique festival that both showcases short films and offers cash prizes to many of its winning films. This year, the festival expanded its prize-winning categories to include Comedy, Student Films, Directorial Debut, and Heartland Horror. With 128 films across 18 programs, Indy Shorts is proud to announce that half of this year's lineup was either directed or co-directed by women, and that the winners of the Narrative and Documentary grand prizes will qualify for the 2021 Academy Awards (as long as they meet all other requirements).

The festival will be held in a hybrid format using both the Eventive Virtual Fest and four nights of screenings at Indianapolis's Tibbs Drive-In. The festival's full lineup and info can be found at https://indyshortsfilmfestival20.eventive.org/films

Waffle

“Waffle” is a comedy-horror short from “CollegeHumor Originals” director Carlyn Hudson. It concerns an heiress named Katie (Katie Marovitch) and her “friend,” Kerry (Kerry Barker). Kerry learns the hard way that Katie always gets what she wants when she’s pressured into spending the night where they’ll gorge themselves on waffles.

Barker and Marovitch co-wrote “Waffle” together. The short plays much heavier on humor than horror and has interesting things to say about our social media-obsessed and app-reliant culture. Another character named Raphael (Raphael Chestang) also enters the picture. At first I thought Chestang’s acting was lacking and/or bad, but a late plot twist colors the performance and short itself in a much different light. --Alec Toombs

The Fall

A group of people, all wearing wooden, expressionless masks, chase down another with bad intentions in this short by Jonathan Glazer, who directed the Scarlett Johannsen-led "Under the Skin" in 2013. The noose imagery suggests there may be racial parallels, but the film is a unclear in its intentions, other than social "justice" of some type is at play. But that hardly matters, with this nightmarish vision of a lynch mob, and a lone victim struggling to stay alive. --Joe Shearer

Deep End

Anthony Selliti's brisk, fun little short revolves around a boy sneaking into a neighbor's yard for a swim, only to find himself unprepared for what lurks beneath the water's surface. Playing upon primal fears, both of being in a body of water and being alone, solitude, Selliti does a tremendous job of juxtaposing the seemingly innocent neighborhood, and dread awaiting a boy who is poking his head someplace it shouldn't be.

At only 5 minutes, there isn't much time for character development, but this is more parable than character study, and it's an effective bit with a couple of fun, effective scares. This one is definitely worth seeing. --Joe Shearer

Eject

“Horror” can be a broad film genre and tagging a movie for that genre can sometimes backfire. Thus it is with “Eject,” a short written and directed by David Yorke. The story is simple; a young woman notices a rash on her arm. It continues to get worse, and when she finally peels off the scab, she sees a UBS port in her foreman. What happens after she plugs in a flash drive is the bulk of this nine-minute movie, that is definitely worth seeing. Without giving much away, let’s just say that too much knowledge may not be that good for you. --Bob Bloom

The Way Station

Writer/director Jason Affolder delivers a deliciously creeping story in “The Way Station.” It’s a quick hit at just 8 minutes long, but Affolder doesn’t waste a second of the runtime. A weary traveler seeks refuge at a roadside motel for the night, but when he begins hearing weird sounds from the room next door, a good night’s sleep is the least of his worries.

“The Way Station” is a great little horror flick with a wonderful performance from Amy Wickenheiser as the motel desk clerk. The film will make you think twice about how you treat the motel staff at your next check-in. --Caine Gardner

Who Goes There?

“Who Goes There?” focuses on three Norwegian sisters Ingrid (Nina Yndis), Liv (Siri Meland) and Ada (Rikké Haughem) who are living on the plains of 1880 Minnesota. Their parents have died and Ada’s knocking on death’s door afflicted with an unnamed ailment. Ingrid invites an outcast (Irish actor Liam McMahon) into their home under the auspices of him healing Ada. Little does Ingrid know that The Outcast is bringing supernatural forces inside with him.

Director Astrid Thorvaldsen’s “Who Goes There?” is easily the most visually appealing of the Heartland Horror shorts I watched. Kudos to Thorvaldsen and her cinematographer Graham Boonzaaier! Apparently, the film has been shortlisted for a Student BAFTA, which is much deserved as I can hardly believe it’s a student film. “Who Goes There?” is on the longer side for a short (24 minutes), but it conveys much with its nuanced performances and rich look. Its open-to-interpretation ending will also give audiences plenty to chew on. --Alec Toombs

The Rink

As he did in his tremendous 2018 feature "Good Feels on Wheels," Ronald Short weaves in a quirky, non-traditional love story into his narrative. The difference, though, is who the love story is about. Here two young women flirt with each other after hours at a skating rink. Lo is hanging out with her group of friends; Mae is smitten but is unprepared for what a relationship with Lo really entails. When the owners of the rink show up, who Lo and her friends are become clear. But the question is whether Mae can accept Lo for who she really is.

Less horror and more comedy, "The Rink" is a macabre love story that carries Short's signature wit, though perhaps not as effectively as it did in "Feels." At around 13 minutes, it would be interesting to see this film played out as a feature-length production, allowing more time for the narrative, and the twist surrounding it, to settle in. --Joe Shearer

Rope

I’m sorry to say I wasn’t a fan of writer/director Menu'Ette Silver’s “Rope.” I realize it was a student film and I realize it only cost $1,300, but both of these facts were readily apparent while watching the short.

Nothing much was conveyed over the short’s 7-minute runtime. It was disturbing to see a noose in a story populated entirely by black characters in light of recent events, but I couldn’t make heads or tails out of what Silver was trying to say. To this straight, white, cisgender man, the scariest element of the short was a character opting to brush their teeth right before eating. Who the hell does that?!!! --Alec Toombs

Stucco

“Stucco” tells the story of a woman who has agoraphobia who’s trying to put her life back together after a bad relationship. While hanging a picture, she inadvertently creates a hole in a new home wall, which unleashes a new horror to complicate things.

The film is written and directed by Russo Schelling and Janina Gavankar, who plays the lead role. It tackles the tough subject matter of mental illness and how it affects both our reality and our unreality. While you might not see all their faces, the film features a star-studded cast of notable names including Leslie Odom Jr., Aisha Tyler, Colton Haynes, Emmy Raver-Lampman, and Debra Messing.

The film is tense throughout and looks fantastic for being shot over four days in Gavankar’s home. It also reveals that sometimes it takes our biggest fear to set us free. --Caine Gardner