Norwich Film Festival - Late Night Shorts

Fan-favourite instalment ‘Late Night Shorts’ returned to the Norwich Film Festival at Cinema City on Saturday night. It featured a selection of 8 distinct dark comedy and horror shorts from local and independent film creators.

BLACK HOLE BARRY

Easily the quirkiest and, dare I say, the most comedic entry of the night, Black Hole Barry impresses early on.

It follows a man who, through unspeakable means, allows a demon into his home and betrays the person closest to him at the same time.

The short does a phenomenal job at making the protagonist an unlikeable character. In minutes, you’re praying for his downfall, and can already predict his potential fate. The true scope of the end is ultimately left ambiguous.

The sound design and imaginative cinematography must also be acknowledged.

Black Hole Barry was a very explicit note to start the night on, and some moments led to awkward chuckles from the audience. Reading between the lines, some people were biding their time until the focus of the short shifted to something else.

SKIN DEEP

A man struggles to cope after a close female friend chooses a new line of work. His actions lead to the one closest to him suffering more and more.

The world-building is what’s very impressive here. In only a minute or so, three distinct characters have been introduced and they are so affectionately cast and performed that it feels as though they all have a legitimate history together and we’re finally getting a look in on it.

Skin Deep deals with the human psyche in a unique way. Decisions that Ethan, the main character, makes are a little rational, but at the same time, entirely wrong. His views are understandable and realistic, but how he acts on them is strange and twisted. The unintended consequences of what exactly Ethan does are what the short focusses on.

The short makes fantastic use of make-up. Part of the way through the short, Georgia - another main character - begins developing a harsh rash across her body. The effects would not look out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster.

That professional-grade standard of quality goes hand-in-hand with some of the decision-making which clearly went on behind the scenes. Some of the framing is very smart. Very good stuff here.
At nineteen minutes, Skin Deep was easily the longest entry of the night. It serves the time well, and I can’t think of any moment or character that outstays their welcome.

With that runtime in mind, surprisingly, this is the only short that I would say ends at ‘the wrong time’. The cut-off is unexpected, and left many of us confused. It definitely feels like part one, and I would watch part two.

BLUE VIOLET

Oh my god. Starting sweet and turning sour, Blue Violet follows the eponymous Blue putting together a birthday present for the eponymous Violet in the style of a video diary, made up of videos they have taken together. She keeps trying to get a hold of Violet as she can’t contain her excitement, but the call keeps going to voicemail. Eventually, she picks up.

There is a clear style straight away that sets Blue Violet apart from the other short films. Much of the film takes the form of camera footage recorded in the past by either Blue or Violet, and a lot of the film is shot on a DV Camcorder. It’s a ‘found footage’ trope given a new lease of life, and I found it to be very appealing.

You can see how Blue Violet leads you in one direction before pulling you in another by how the notes I was taking while watching it quickly changed. I scribbled a quick note towards the start wondering how it could possibly take a sinister turn, then switched to writing frantically about the unease I felt, before signing off with a dull “OH.”

The ending of Blue Violet elicited the biggest reaction from the crowd of all the short films, and left me personally shook and distracted for the remainder of the night. The fantastic methods used to disarm the viewer before a heartwrenching bait-and-switch struck me as incredible. I had never seen this style of storytelling before.

The sheer shock has secured Blue Violet as the most effective and compelling short film I have seen to date. I feel immense confidence saying that.

POLY BAGGAGE

Whereas some horror characters take time to build up psychotic characters, Poly Baggage does it immediately. Considering how the runtime is only fourteen minutes, a surprising amount gets established very quickly.

It follows a woman named Polly who, after a brutal breakup, takes the concept of ‘heartbreak’ very literally. She has her heart removed, and her friend does her best to reverse the process. The unthinkable ensues.

The production value is what hits you first. It’s a running theme that all of the shorts had quality, but this one stood out. Pair that with introducing the viewer to a character who is clearly twisted, and you have the recipe for a unique and engaging endeavour.

Poly Baggage easily gave off the most ‘what the hell’ energy of the selection of short films. Where others chose to unease, or simply scare the viewer, this was the most ‘full-on’ in its portrayal of gore and horror.

Things happen in this short which I cannot write down for fear of being ridiculed - like there’s no way they’re real. They are. There are scenes that made me wince, and one made the lady sitting beside me feel physically faint. People looked away.

I couldn’t help but feel intrigued, though. The world-building was convincing and professional, and they still managed to get some comedy in there with one or two smart lines.

UPPER CURRENT

A man desperate to cover his tracks drives to the sea.

Some inventive storytelling and VERY impressive camerawork gave Upper Current the most unique identity of the night.The framing is stellar, and every shot must have been made with a crystal clear vision in mind. I shudder to think how much planning went into it. It makes comparison to the other short films very difficult.

The only short of the night without a single line of dialogue. The closest you get is an annoyed grunt and the sound of the sea. Upper Current also had the smallest cast of the night. Only two people - one alive, one dead.

PLASTIC SURGERY

The environment, characters and premise of Plastic Surgery were a breath of fresh air.

The film follows Dr Terra, who is on her last day before maternity leave. During her shift, she and her team discover that their patients are suffering from an accumulation of plastic within their bodies.

You can’t immediately tell which direction the short is going to take. It starts off strong, showing the reality of being around an operating table, before the threat of an unexplainable terror quickly increases. The danger remains unexplainable, and yet, the way it’s presented keeps it eerily familiar.

This short was distinctive in how it was the only short to have a clear message behind it. The name - Plastic Surgery - does not refer to the medical practice, but the threat posed by microplastics, closing with messages akin to an appeal before the credits roll.

For much of Plastic Surgery, I genuinely forgot I was watching a quick production that was part of a larger programme. I was transported by the sheer narrative alone. I could easily watch an hour or two in this world.

THE WOMAN IN THE BED

This short follows an elderly woman who awakes motionless in bed, and quickly discovers that she is not alone.

The shortest film of the night, The Woman in the Bed was good at giving variety to the evening. It’s the only film of the selection to focus entirely on the feeling of paranoia, hopelessness, and being at the mercy of forces you cannot comprehend.

The colour grading is very thoughtfully applied, and the sense of a presence that is ‘inhuman’ or paranormal is put together very well.

It leaves you thinking, and it was definitely best placed towards the back of the Late Night Shorts ensemble. Very interesting.

Even with that in mind, one of the four minutes that make The Woman In The Bed is a shot of a clearly withered elderly lady staring at the ceiling in one continuous shot. It left me thinking that, even with its miniscule runtime, there were elements which could have been cut down.

THE FAIRY MOON

In a small town, a man is pursued by a lunatic who is obsessed with the ‘unexpected’.

The acting is what sets this one apart.

Two characters that are completely at odds with each other are shown to be at odds straight away, and both are treated fantastically.

The Fairy Moon relies a lot on being ‘unexpected’, and that is definitely shown best through how the film is put together.

The short is split into sections separated by transition slides. The first two, ‘speak’ and ‘touch’, lead me to believe we were following the senses. The third, ‘dance’, put that theory to rest. The themes presented throughout culminate in a crescendo that I would definitely describe as ‘unexpected’.

The idea of being stalked and nobody, not even the police, believing you, is a type of horror that was only present in The Fairy Moon film out of the entire selection on the night, so it was great for variety as well.

There is a very intuitive use of sound that keeps the film compelling, partially thanks to ‘The Fairy Moon Choir’, as they are credited.