Jitterman (2016)
IMDb genre: Short/Horror
Director: Alex Mathieson
Writer: Alex Mathieson
Starring: Tom Gordon, Naomi Petersen, Richard Mark
I was lucky enough to get a screener for this short which has not long had its cast and crew screening. You may remember that some time ago I was able to review 'The Tour' which I enjoyed, and that was written and directed by Alex Mathieson & Damon Rickard so I had high hopes for this one.
The email with my link advised to watch with the lights off and headphones in which to be honest I initially thought was just a way to hype the scares; in the same way that many horror film apparently make audiences sick at festival screenings. I figured I'd try it though so I settled down at around midnight in the dark not really sure what to expect. To paraphrase Stephen King's opinion of the new 'IT' movie, I was not prepared!
There are several jump scares which are particularly effective with the enhancement from Eric Elick's fantastically creepy score. I don't want to give any spoilers but if/when you get to watch it keep an eye on the bookcase, that was my favourite scare and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a second.
The 'babysitter under attack' trope has been well-used but it's one that horror, and me, never seems to tire of because there's a lot to do with it and it works well in this short too. The interaction between Naomi Petersen's babysitter and Alexander Stucker's Charlie, the child under her care, is a little wooden at the beginning if we're being honest. However, once the scares begin they both react very organically and you find yourself rooting for them both which is an impressive feat in a 12-minute long film.
There's a small spoiler now but I'm too impressed not to say something. As almost a framing device, and to add suspense, the babysitter turns on a black-and-white horror movie with a bit of a 'Night of the Living Dead' vibe which plays in snippets throughout much of the short. First of all I thought that they'd somehow found a movie which mentioned 'jitters' so it would fit in but as it turns out this was also created for the film. This is indicative of something that shines through the whole short; Alex Mathieson obviously adores his craft. This extends into the cinematography as there's some unusual shots and we're kept close to the action to draw us in.
The actual design of the antagonist is perfect and definitely ups the scare factor and I very much enjoyed the way things came together at the end. Pretty much the only downside for me once things got going was that, while I know it was done for atmosphere, some of the shots were a bit too dark and it made it hard to follow the action.
So basically if you see Jitterman anywhere make sure you check it out, it's original and surprisingly scary. I think it would be excellent on the big screen. Make sure you stay for the credits too because the song is so good!
General Opinion:
Scare Factor:
Quite jumpy and really draws you in.
Gore:
There isn't really any but it doesn't need it.
Clowns:
There's the odd fake-out scare but this definitely isn't a horror comedy.
There's no screening information for Jitterman that I'm aware of yet but watch this space!
Director: Alex Mathieson
Writer: Alex Mathieson
Starring: Tom Gordon, Naomi Petersen, Richard Mark
I was lucky enough to get a screener for this short which has not long had its cast and crew screening. You may remember that some time ago I was able to review 'The Tour' which I enjoyed, and that was written and directed by Alex Mathieson & Damon Rickard so I had high hopes for this one.
The email with my link advised to watch with the lights off and headphones in which to be honest I initially thought was just a way to hype the scares; in the same way that many horror film apparently make audiences sick at festival screenings. I figured I'd try it though so I settled down at around midnight in the dark not really sure what to expect. To paraphrase Stephen King's opinion of the new 'IT' movie, I was not prepared!
There are several jump scares which are particularly effective with the enhancement from Eric Elick's fantastically creepy score. I don't want to give any spoilers but if/when you get to watch it keep an eye on the bookcase, that was my favourite scare and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a second.
The 'babysitter under attack' trope has been well-used but it's one that horror, and me, never seems to tire of because there's a lot to do with it and it works well in this short too. The interaction between Naomi Petersen's babysitter and Alexander Stucker's Charlie, the child under her care, is a little wooden at the beginning if we're being honest. However, once the scares begin they both react very organically and you find yourself rooting for them both which is an impressive feat in a 12-minute long film.
There's a small spoiler now but I'm too impressed not to say something. As almost a framing device, and to add suspense, the babysitter turns on a black-and-white horror movie with a bit of a 'Night of the Living Dead' vibe which plays in snippets throughout much of the short. First of all I thought that they'd somehow found a movie which mentioned 'jitters' so it would fit in but as it turns out this was also created for the film. This is indicative of something that shines through the whole short; Alex Mathieson obviously adores his craft. This extends into the cinematography as there's some unusual shots and we're kept close to the action to draw us in.
The actual design of the antagonist is perfect and definitely ups the scare factor and I very much enjoyed the way things came together at the end. Pretty much the only downside for me once things got going was that, while I know it was done for atmosphere, some of the shots were a bit too dark and it made it hard to follow the action.
So basically if you see Jitterman anywhere make sure you check it out, it's original and surprisingly scary. I think it would be excellent on the big screen. Make sure you stay for the credits too because the song is so good!
General Opinion:
Scare Factor:
Quite jumpy and really draws you in.
Gore:
There isn't really any but it doesn't need it.
Clowns:
There's the odd fake-out scare but this definitely isn't a horror comedy.
There's no screening information for Jitterman that I'm aware of yet but watch this space!
