One of the things I love the most about Halloween is seeing all of the creative things storytellers do with common horror, science fiction, and fantasy tropes at this time of the year. There’s something about the Halloween season that seems to bring out the best in writers, filmmakers, and other creators.
The films in today’s post represent a wide range of subgenres, filming styles, and intended audiences. That was something I did intentionally to increase the chances that all of my visitors would find something that appealed to them. It was also a great deal of fun to find five films that wouldn’t normally be grouped together.
My other major criteria was to find examples of funny horror stories that had as little gore as possible. As I’ve mentioned here before, I don’t enjoy that sort of thing. I’d much rather be frightened by thoughts and feelings than seeing a monster tear someone apart.
I will be sharing mild spoilers about the amount of gore in each film, if any, so you can decide for yourselves which ones you’d like to see if this is also a concern for you.
Created by: Nikhilesh Kumar.
Run Time: 2 minutes, 35 seconds.
Gore Factor: None.
Why You Should Watch It:
It takes years for children to learn the many rules rules of operating in polite society well enough that they can blend in just about anywhere.
I think it’s amusing to observe the process of their minds learning why rules are created in the first place, when it’s okay to bend a rule, why some rules only apply in certain situations, and what happens when someone breaks rules (whether intentionally or unintentionally). The main character in this story is the sort of person who has memorized a specific rule but hasn’t yet figured out why it exists.
Honestly, I have a lot of empathy for that little guy. His predicament was funny, but it also made me wonder how frustrated he might have been getting with the whole process.
The Lonely Slasher: Short Halloween Film
Created by: TheThreeLancers. Score by Sam Holmes.
Run Time: 5 minutes, 38 seconds.
Gore Factor: A few briefly bloody scenes. I looked away for a few seconds at one point as my tolerance for gore is pretty low these days.
Why You Should Watch It:
I appreciated this film’s take on why people do the things they do. In no way did it make excuses for The Lonely Slasher, but I did come to understand why his body count was so high. While I wouldn’t necessarily call him a protagonist, there were parts of him that I found relatable on a much smaller scale. I mean, who hasn’t occasionally put their foot in their mouth at the worst possible time or accidentally bumped into a stranger?
Created by: Ryan McDuffie from Crypt TV
Run Time: 9 minutes, 18 seconds
Gore Factor: Two mildly violent scenes, but no real gore.
Why You Should Watch It:
Miscommunications sometimes happen in every long-term relationship. I was fascinated by how the creator took this concept, turned it into a literal member of the household, and then pushed his creativity to the limits to show what can happen when a couple aren’t on the same wavelength.
Boo – A Short Film About Halloween, Ghosts, and Poop
Created by: Michael J. Goldberg
Run Time: 11 minutes, 52 seconds.
Gore Factor: None.
Why You Should Watch It:
Not every ghost is necessarily scary in the way you expect them to be. I loved the plot twists in this one after the house sitter first encountered the ghost and was thoroughly unimpressed with what she believed to be his or her costume and persona. It was the total opposite of how I thought the first scene would go, so I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.
Also, I think I might have been the only kid in the world who liked receiving those little boxes of raisins. So I never would have haunted this house in the first place.
Created by: Liz Anderson from Crypt TV
Run Time: 4 minutes, 43 seconds.
Gore Factor: Minimal. The camera panned away just before every gory scene actually happened, but it was heavily foreshadowed and implied.
Why You Should Watch It:
There’s always room for more stories about the tensions that can exist between one generation and the next, especially when it makes its point as quietly as this one does. This is something I’d happily show to the next person I meet who starts complaining about how people from a particular generation act.
I also enjoyed the way the secondary characters behaved in this film. Without giving away too many spoilers, they were much more intelligent and aware of their surroundings than most characters are in this genre. I really love it when that happens!
Respond
What is your favourite humorous Halloween short film?
I haven’t seen any of these but my favourite Halloween film of all time is The Nightmare Before Christmas, which I would argue is a Halloween film every bit as much as a Christmas film, haha. I’ll have to check your recommendations too, thank you for this little list! 🙂
Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com
Oh, I love The Nightmare Before Christmas! It’s such a creative story.
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy my recommendations.