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Every year, the Worldwide Short Film Festival runs a program entitled ‘Midnight Mania’ in which they show some of the creepier, more boundary-pushing work in the overall program. This year’s ‘Midnight Mania: Creepy’ program, which screened at 11:59pm on Friday, June 4 was certainly aptly named. Not ‘short’ on disturbing content, this program was provoked through while it reviled.

Everybody – USA – 4 Minutes

This is a short in which a variety of watercolour animals discuss their unfiltered thoughts and feelings about a number of deeply grotesque topics – like self-mutilation, suicide and hatred feature prominently. On the one hand, I hated this short, mostly because, well, its subject matter was just so not what I wanted to think about. On the other hand, I think that was its point. I think it’s designed to challenge you and make you think about topics you may not necessarily want to. Sometimes we need a push to get us to realize that everyone thinks horrible things occasionally, we just can’t let those thoughts rule us — our “animal” natures, so to speak.

Jardin Dead End – Canada – 11 Minutes

Imagine you’re a horribly geeky guy who can’t seem to pick-up women. Imagine you spot a beautiful woman standing alone in a bar who actually seems interested in you. Now imagine that woman is also possessed by the Devil. Wouldn’t you put up with a lot to keep her too? The hot, hot demon sex doesn’t hurt either. This short is well done, funny, Canadian and has Luchador priests. What’s not to love?

The Elemental – UK – 12 Minutes

Karen tries to be a good daughter, but her shut-in parents make it difficult. The entire family is terrified of a presence in the shadowy hallway of Karen’s parent’s apartment building, utterly refusing to leave, not even for food. This short is a little lax on important details, such as logic, but it is definitely creepy (in keeping with the theme of the program). Since everyone is already scared of shadowy hallways this is highly unlikely to help us get over that.

Jack – Canada – 6 Minutes

A hilarious pumpkin revenge fantasy. Brilliant. Fantastic ending. See it. That is all.

MRDRCHAIN – Czech Republic/France – 9 Minutes

This is a grotesque Dali-esque, dismemberment, fetish film that is both disturbing and excellent at the same time. It has a kinetic energy that propels the viewer through some very disturbing imagery, while still capturing their interest. Never going for shock value, the filmmaker has somehow created a full world without using a single word of dialogue and makes the viewer feel that their interested voyeurism is somehow benign. Frankly, this is an incredible short film. It is available online here and I strongly recommend it, but it is not for the squeamish.

5 Minute Dating – Canada – 5 Minutes

Mr. Peanut is a man who is looking for love. He’s a little different though. He has some pretty significant facial deformations and he dresses a little over-formally. And yet, he’s still trying to find love. Five-minute dating seems to be going poorly for him, until he meets another unique individual. Will it be love? You’ll have to watch and see. I strongly recommend getting to see this one, if possible. It’s perfectly gothic and unexpected. Loved this short!

Chloe and Attie – Canada – 8 minutes

Chloe and Attie is a grim short about a woman who cares for her infirmed friend, ensuring her injections come at just the right time, setting herself aside for the sake of caring for another person. But it seems that the quiet life these women lead is hiding something. In only eight minutes this film encompasses a host of issues including euthanasia, quality of life, love, desire and fulfillment. A brilliant short film, designed to be both artful and thoughtful – a combination that many strive for and few succeed at. This short is available through the Babelgum WSFF channel. Definitely worth your eight minutes.

Battenburg – UK – 12 Minutes

A bird crashes into a closed window and is taken in by a seemingly benevolent red-eyed squirrel. At first, the bird thinks he’s made a new friend, but things start to go badly for both squirrel and bird. The animation in this short is beautiful. It’s stop-motion with what appears to be taxidermied animals, but it gives the short a creepy, surreal aspect that wouldn’t work if these were purely created props. To be honest, I didn’t like this short very much, but I think my dislike had more to do with how much the short unsettled me – which was very likely the point. The short is available through the Babelgum channel, so you can check it out and make up your own mind.

Off Season – UK – 13 Minutes

In the dead of winter, a homeless alcoholic works his way through a series of summer cottages; all closed for the season. He finds alcohol, books, food and more, always accompanied by his only companion, a little Jack Russell. When man and dog make a chilling discovery, it changes the man’s perspective on his way of life, but is it too late? This short is definitely the most traditionally creepy of the bunch and definitely not something you want to watch alone in a dark room (like I did). Excellent work on the part of the production team, it’s no surprise that this short previously screened at Sundance.