Click
May 5, 2013 2:44 PM Subscribe
William Prince's short Click is very simple little horror film about a bunch of kids, an abandoned building, and a light switch that you'd better watch before it gets dark. The short was a finalist in Popcorn Horror's Blood Games short film competition. You can view the other five finalists here.
Well made, but I would have appreciated subtitles.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:32 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:32 PM on May 5, 2013
I liked it, but I think it would have been better if the girl chose to flick the switch at the end. Once it wasn't a choice, it was less scary.
posted by Archibald Edmund Binns at 3:47 PM on May 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Archibald Edmund Binns at 3:47 PM on May 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
I really developed a love for horror films in 2012. I always liked them, but after one twelve-month period during which my favourite brother died of a sudden and massive heart attack at the age of 42, I got hit by a car, I lost the job I'd held for 11.5 years, and a cousin of mine died at 43 after a three-year struggle with ALS, when I saw an onscreen character getting ripped to shreds by unknown and relentless forces, I could suddenly relate on a whole new level.
posted by orange swan at 3:47 PM on May 5, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 3:47 PM on May 5, 2013 [8 favorites]
Just watched all 6 shorts. Although I love horror in all forms, I think it works best in the short form, and 3 of these - Click, Blood Roulette and Mortified - are in my opinion very good examples of the short horror film. In particular, Mortified is absolutely delightful; at 2 minutes in length it's by far the shortest of all 6 and is tasteless in all of the right ways.
(Sometimes I wonder why horror works best in the short form. I think the reason is that it's like porn: the frisson can't be as effectively sustained over long periods of time. In particular, the most frightening part of a horror story can be the very revelation of the premise itself, and a short film or short story is perfectly structured to deliver the maximum punch in this way.)
posted by Frobenius Twist at 5:47 PM on May 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
(Sometimes I wonder why horror works best in the short form. I think the reason is that it's like porn: the frisson can't be as effectively sustained over long periods of time. In particular, the most frightening part of a horror story can be the very revelation of the premise itself, and a short film or short story is perfectly structured to deliver the maximum punch in this way.)
posted by Frobenius Twist at 5:47 PM on May 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
Sometimes I wonder why horror works best in the short form.
For me what's lacking in short-form horror like these examples is investment in character. I didn't care about these kids well enough to be bothered what happened to them. The experience is more like reading the synopsis of a neat idea, rather than watching the story itself.
Biggest horror scares for me have come from films with a long, slow, tedious first act where nothing happens but we fully accept the characters as real people just like us, such as Wolf Creek.
posted by dontjumplarry at 6:03 PM on May 5, 2013 [3 favorites]
For me what's lacking in short-form horror like these examples is investment in character. I didn't care about these kids well enough to be bothered what happened to them. The experience is more like reading the synopsis of a neat idea, rather than watching the story itself.
Biggest horror scares for me have come from films with a long, slow, tedious first act where nothing happens but we fully accept the characters as real people just like us, such as Wolf Creek.
posted by dontjumplarry at 6:03 PM on May 5, 2013 [3 favorites]
That girl, the last one standing, damn, does she ever have a face for a terror movie. Remarkably expressive. The director chose the right one for the last one.
posted by dancestoblue at 6:15 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by dancestoblue at 6:15 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
meh, didn't click for me. :)
I liked Mortified, though. Thanks, Frobenius!
posted by luvcraft at 9:46 PM on May 5, 2013
I liked Mortified, though. Thanks, Frobenius!
posted by luvcraft at 9:46 PM on May 5, 2013
Yeah, so, I'm never ever going to be able to watch this. Will someone summarize?
posted by Gin and Comics at 10:57 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by Gin and Comics at 10:57 PM on May 5, 2013
Hah! If you watch one of these, watch Mortified.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:36 AM on May 6, 2013
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:36 AM on May 6, 2013
I really developed a love for horror films in 2012. I always liked them, but after one twelve-month period during which my favourite brother died of a sudden and massive heart attack at the age of 42, I got hit by a car, I lost the job I'd held for 11.5 years, and a cousin of mine died at 43 after a three-year struggle with ALS, when I saw an onscreen character getting ripped to shreds by unknown and relentless forces, I could suddenly relate on a whole new level.
That's funny, I've always loved horror movies and I have the opposite reaction as you when I've had something sad happen in my life. During the time my dad was battling a long and painful illness and for some time after he died, I couldn't watch horror movies, as much as I love them. Anything related to death was too hard for me, I could only really watch fluff movies - comedies and romcoms and things with not one hint of sadness.
I am really looking forward to watching this tonight when I get home, thanks for posting.
posted by triggerfinger at 6:42 AM on May 6, 2013
That's funny, I've always loved horror movies and I have the opposite reaction as you when I've had something sad happen in my life. During the time my dad was battling a long and painful illness and for some time after he died, I couldn't watch horror movies, as much as I love them. Anything related to death was too hard for me, I could only really watch fluff movies - comedies and romcoms and things with not one hint of sadness.
I am really looking forward to watching this tonight when I get home, thanks for posting.
posted by triggerfinger at 6:42 AM on May 6, 2013
"Click" ends up with a distressing sense of inevitable doom. Well done.
posted by doctornemo at 7:41 AM on May 6, 2013
posted by doctornemo at 7:41 AM on May 6, 2013
These are great, thanks! I agree that horror works best in short form, both written and filmed... a little goes a long way. I think part of it is that a lot of longer stories will inevitably try to offer answers or back story to the horror, when the unexplained is usually far scarier than any revelations offered.
"Click" reminds me a bit of an episode of the horror podcast Pseudopod I listened to recently, called "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night" by Michael Marshall Smith. Listening to that story at night left me creeped out and unsettled far longer than any blood soaked gorefest I've seen recently.
posted by Roommate at 10:30 AM on May 6, 2013
"Click" reminds me a bit of an episode of the horror podcast Pseudopod I listened to recently, called "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night" by Michael Marshall Smith. Listening to that story at night left me creeped out and unsettled far longer than any blood soaked gorefest I've seen recently.
posted by Roommate at 10:30 AM on May 6, 2013
I can't say I care for Mortified. Click has an internal logic because we can accept there is some sort of inexplicable or supernatural force at work; Mortified is supposed to take place in the realm of the humanly possible, doesn't provide for believability, and consequently is just silly and farcical. Which I suppose is fine if you want a funny horror movie, but I like a horrifying horror movie.
posted by orange swan at 11:43 AM on May 6, 2013
posted by orange swan at 11:43 AM on May 6, 2013
I liked how at the end, it's just you and the switch. It dawns on you that you're a character, too. And then: Click.
Sort of like breaking the fourth wall, just a bit.
posted by fontor at 1:45 PM on May 6, 2013
Sort of like breaking the fourth wall, just a bit.
posted by fontor at 1:45 PM on May 6, 2013
I thought click was pretty good. Someone in the comments section at i09 suggested the idea that it was the light, not the dark that was taking people. I like this idea much better, and there's a bit of evidence to support it. The second bulb gets stronger/flickers less as the game goes on. The ball doesn't drop until the light turns on, suggesting the boy is there in the darkness. The same for holding hands. And the last little girl, you can hear her sniffling until the light cuts on.
I didn't much care for Mortified. Blood Roulette was just awful, in my opinion. It was poorly shot, the soundtrack detracted rather than added, and it really didn't even have a plot. I like Survivalismo, though. It did drag on a bit. I thought Twinkle Toes was the best, even though I hate gore. It had the best plot, the best plot twist, and was shot the best, in my opinion. Don't Move was also very very good. Coming into the middle of the action was perfect.
posted by FirstMateKate at 2:20 PM on May 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
I didn't much care for Mortified. Blood Roulette was just awful, in my opinion. It was poorly shot, the soundtrack detracted rather than added, and it really didn't even have a plot. I like Survivalismo, though. It did drag on a bit. I thought Twinkle Toes was the best, even though I hate gore. It had the best plot, the best plot twist, and was shot the best, in my opinion. Don't Move was also very very good. Coming into the middle of the action was perfect.
posted by FirstMateKate at 2:20 PM on May 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
Great concept well executed.
posted by ChrisPeters at 9:34 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by ChrisPeters at 9:34 AM on May 16, 2013
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