M is for Maisie (2013) 💀💀💀 ⛧ Strange Creatures (2024) 💀½

M is for Maisie (alternatively Maisie) stands among the more effective micro-short horror films. From its opening moments, Kinsella and Sullivan's screenplay demonstrates skilled manipulation of audience expectations.

Horror films this brief rarely allow time for meaningful tension building. Yet here we open with a scene of primal dread - a masked figure breaking into a darkened home late at night. Just as tension peaks, we learn he's simply a father who locked himself out, trying not to wake his family. This twist makes the horror that follows hit harder.

The practical effects work well without going overboard, keeping things grounded in an unsettling reality. The sound design builds mounting dread as events unfold. When young Sarah appears with her "friend" Maisie for the final reveal, it adds that classic horror element that sets this micro-short apart from its peers.

2013 ✶ 3m ✶ Color ✶ IE ✶ Director: Ray Sullivan ✶ Screenplay: Darryl Kinsella, Ray Sullivan ✶ Music: Terry Warren ✶ Starring: Jocelyn Deegan (Carol), Darryl Kinsella (Daddy), Ciara Moran (Sarah) ✶ Vimeo.

⛧

Strange Creatures delivers technical polish but struggles with finding originality. Writer/director Nicholas Payne Santos presents a familiar narrative - a person receiving calls from a dead relative - drawing clear parallels to the 1964 Twilight Zone episode Night Call. But where Rod Serling's work benefited from a script by horror master Richard Matheson, and dug deep into exploring grief, this effort remains firmly on the surface.

Quinn Jackson anchors the film with a grounded performance as the sister facing impossible phone calls. She brings weight to the supernatural elements, while Nyland and Wilkinson manage to create presence through voice work alone.

The film finds its footing in atmosphere. Santos shows genuine skill behind the camera, particularly in capturing the isolation of his single location. The empty lot, its payphone casting the only real light, and that blocked forest road beyond create genuine unease. His careful framing and lighting choices, consistent with his other works, demonstrate strong technical command.

Sadly, this visual craft can't quite overcome the predictable material with each scare arriving right on cue. The jarring ring of the phone, the shadowy figure rushing out of the darkened woods, the final reveal - all are jump scares. While competently executed, these moments follow such a familiar pattern that they lose impact.

2024 ✶ 6m ✶ Color ✶ US ✶ Director: Nicholas Payne Santos ✶ Screenplay: Nicholas Payne Santos ✶ Starring: Quinn Jackson (Nell), Christine Nyland (Becca), Sean-Michael Wilkinson (Aiden) ✶ Vimeo.