I have watched everything Space Oddity Films has to offer on their YouTube channel, so needless to say, I was excited to review another short of theirs. Their newest one, WINK, is a glimpse into the horror of social networking with a metaphor for mobile technology while still maintaining its overall cleverness and “slasher-esque” style.
The short opens up with a very clever jack-o-lantern carved to resemble a wide smiling emoji. It is pretty easy to say that current American is almost strictly based off of internet culture so I found this jack-o-lantern to be a very nice addition. The film progresses to the main character handing out candy on Halloween night. With the use of clever camera work, we get to zoom in on the characters fingernails which were decorated to spell out the word BOO while the camera panned over to the text message conversation she was currently having. There are multiple loud knocks on the door but no one is there when our main character answers. This was a classic nod to the slasher genre and something that I heavily appreciated. As she walks away she begins to notice something odd lurking within the candy bowl. POP! BURST! The candy explodes all over the floor and just like every other slasher film, the woman tries to run but ends up falling. The use of emojis to depict the facial expressions was absolutely creative and unlike anything I’d ever seen before within the horror genre. Although this film could be considered mild for the genre, you still get that underlying feeling of satisfaction. Oh and there is blood, something that I can’t ever get enough of in slashers. The short doesn’t necessarily end well for our main gal, but it ended well enough for me to walk away, or rather, scroll away (haha) with satisfaction.
Space Oddity Films can be found on YouTube and they have a decent amount of shorts included on their channel. Like I mentioned previously, I am a fan of their work and have taken the time to watch everything they have to offer. Much like WINK, the majority of the shorts contain key elements within the horror genre while still maintaining a lightheartedness by not taking itself too seriously.
I really enjoyed WINK and prior to writing this, I double checked their YouTube channel to see if there was anything they had done that I may be missing out on. Considering their films are under five minutes long, you should head over to their channel and watch a few. You won’t regret it!
- [Short Film Review] MEAT FRIEND - March 9, 2022
- [Movie Review] ALONE WITH YOU - February 1, 2022
- [Indie Memphis Film Festival Review] THE PILL - October 27, 2021
