Welcome to the 48Hours playlist, a collection of short films from the Rialto Channel 48Hours filmmaking competition curated according to a particular theme. Now when I say ‘curated’, I specifically mean that I spent an absurd amount of time in the 48Hours Screening Room looking for films that are a superb showcase of the given theme – especially for a film created in the span on one weekend.
Check out 48Hour Playlist: Animation
This playlist features short films that manage to do what most big-budget horrors cannot: evoke fear. In this competition, teams who get the ‘horror’ genre often take the comedic route – laughs are easier to get than screams. Call it a cop-out if you want, but 48Hours has produced a lot of great horror comedies (like this one, this one and this one). However, for this list, I want to focus on the teams that bravely punctured the core of the genre and ripped out its beating heart, doing their damnedest to terrify the audience with bloodstained hands.
Oh, and hey, if you’ve enjoyed any of these playlists, you should do yourself a solid and go to your city/regional final. Check here for your area’s session time, ticket booking and location.
Flicker (2014)
By Asylum, Auckland
Let’s kick this off with a frightening film that didn’t even get ‘horror’ as a genre. Asylum squeezed suspense from their devilishly clever time-travel concept, toothpasting out a load of asskickery with Flicker. It’s a gradual build, allowing you to feel attached to the excellent lead as she has fun with the temporal phenomenon. That is, until shit goes wrong… horrifically, terrifyingly, stupendously wrong…
Fanatics (2009)
By Goodfellas, Auckland
I have a secret that isn’t really a secret: I love Goodfellas. Time and time again, they’ve proven to be a force of comedy, mystery, drama and daring (their in the Auckland city final this year, too). This unique radio-based thriller is the first I ever saw of theirs, and I’ve been a ‘fellas follower ever since. Sure, anchoring the story on arrogant rugby nuts borders on farcical, but this is New Zealand after all, the country where this scenario is most likely to actually happen. By playing it completely straight, Goodfellas sell the tension supremely.
Read our 2013 Q&A about their 48Hours history
Feed (2014)
By hoganstreetheroes, Hamilton
This small team made a big impression on me last year; I couldn’t resist placing 2014’s Hamilton winner on this playlist and giving it even more praise. Feed is proof that hefty production values aren’t necessary to stimulate fear (something we’ve given Paranormal Activity too much credit for), but a method for scratching the right nerves is. It’s what hoganstreetheroes don’t show, what they don’t explain, that makes their short so fantastically creepy. They treat the back of your skull like a chalkboard, scratching the sharpened nails of what-the-holy-hell-is-going-on tension downwards towards its eventual – and inevitable – conclusion.
Paralysis (2013)
By Hybrid Motion Pictures, Auckland
How can something so creepy be so gosh darn pretty at the same time? Well, that’s the glorious devil baby Hybrid Motion Pictures spawned to with their Grand Finalist film Paralysis. The cinematography, the costuming, the makeup, the effects and the acting are all of such high class, it’s enough to make someone hot with rage-envy – if the film wasn’t already giving you the chills.
Rubble (2014)
By Noise and Pictures, Wellington
I have a personal fear of being crushed. It’s not an irrational fear – I’ve never legitimately felt like I was in a situation that could lead to a life-ending case of crushed-ness – but I do get unnaturally bothered by scenes involving characters getting squeeze between a hard place and a hard place. It’s as if Noise and Pictures knew this and decided to fuck with me on a personal level by crafting a superb take on the horror genre. Fuck you too, guys.
Reverb (2014)
By Waima Street, Auckland
I know… animation… I can’t help myself. But damnit, Reverb is one hell of an exercise in surreal tension. The storytelling isn’t straightforward and the ending isn’t all that clear (which is probably why this wasn’t a finalist), but rationality often doesn’t apply to the fear of walking alone in a dark, manky tunnel in the middle of the night. With a gorgeous art style and professional sound design, Waima Street harnessed the essence of a mind that wanders in the scariest of places, logic be damned.
Keep your eyes locked for more 48Hours Playlists coming in the next few days.
Again, if you’ve enjoyed any of these playlists, you’re gonna want to go to your city’s national final. Check here for your area’s session time, ticket booking and location.
