Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Review: SLAYED: LGBT HORROR SHORTS

The short film block, Slayed, at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2018, is an anthology made up of five LGBT horror shorts. They are all vastly different in their stories and atmosphere, each one more haunting than the other. And that’s what makes this block so enthralling and rich with diversity.

The first submission in this block is The Sermon, a folklore horror bit directed by Dean Puckett that weaves the all too familiar tale of a church that lives by the bible, and the forbidden love taking place behind the scenes. How deceived a member of the clergy must feel to learn that there is a gay one amongst them. Watch what happens next because of their unfortunate decisions.

Next, we have Disposition, an impressive short directed by Eric Thirteen, that delves into the dark, and often lonely world of depression, as Sarah tries to keep a grip on reality as suicide constantly plagues her brain on an almost unending loop. Find out what happens when she decides to let love in, and no longer spend her days alone.

Thirdly, there is The Payment, a demonic short direct by Ben Learned, about a young man who sold his soul years ago, and upon a visit from the demon, learns demons have feelings too, and it might not be what you were expecting.

The fourth short in this block was my favorite of the the five. Instinct, by Maria Arida, tells the story of a young, and seductive performance artist who catches the eye, and desire, of an older gallery owner. A certain look makes this young woman crave more, but doesn’t realize that she’s no longer the one in control, and just might pay the price in blood.

And in the fifth, and final installment, there’s the French short, The Islands, directed by Yann Gonzalez. Sexual desire is almost its own character in this one, where the characters spend most of the time in a dream-like state, following their own erotic fantasies.

While I was excited to watch a block of shorts that centered around LGBT, I was a bit hesitant as I’m not a huge fan of shorts, or anthologies. But I have to say, this one blew me away. All of the shorts are impressive, each one is well made, with fantastic scores and gorgeous cinematography.

Islands
Tiffany Blem
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