Good evening fellow fiends of fright! Tonight we will be getting satisfyingly spooked as we venture into Dan Sunley’s horror short titled PIECES. To better acquaint you with the synopsis, I will turn to IMDB:

“A young woman unearths a supernatural presence at her deceased grandmother’s home when she finds a single jigsaw piece and a note that reads ‘FINISH IT’.” 

Considering there is already a film titled PIECES with a generally large cult following, I was a bit skeptical prior to checking out Dan’s short. However, what I found while viewing was something actually entertaining and original.

The atmosphere throughout the entire 14 minutes or so of the film was completely filled with dread. Even during scenes that did not seem intended to give off that vibe. The main actress, Kate Sandison, gave a really great performance as she was able to uphold the sense of dread that carried throughout the film through her grief.

I found myself wondering how the director was able to score such a creepy house for the filming of this short. The house was older and slightly run down looking but had a vintage feel to it and I really enjoyed that aspect of the film.

In order to really absorb PIECES, I watched it on my laptop with headphones. To me this was the best choice I could have made because it really assisted in the scare factor. The scares are jumpy and almost gave me the same type of vibe as films such as INSIDIOUS or THE BYE BYE MAN. This did not turn me off of the film, if anything, I actually felt that it helped contribute to my satisfaction of the film.

Once the film started to turn it’s course towards the ending, I already had an idea of how it was going to culminate. Although the end was slightly predicated, it didn’t deter me from my overall enjoyment of the film.

I could easily recommend this short to most horror fans because it was fun, original and also had a bit of surprises that are reminiscent of major franchises, which means people will either love it or hate it for that. I suggest heading over to YouTube and looking up “Pieces Short Film” to give it a watch. Being less than 15 minutes long it will not take too much time out of your life.

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Devin March

Co-Host at GoreLords Podcast

Devin is a contributing writer for Nightmarish Conjurings and one of the three Co-hosts of the GoreLords Podcast. In his spare time (when it exists) he's usually cuddled up to his wife binge-watching a TV series, checking out new indie horror films or more recently playing Nintendo Switch. Devin is a huge fan of horror and macabre and it shows in his household. There is a room in his house dedicated to VHS tapes, Disneyland, Vintage Halloween and 80's horror.

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