[FilmQuest 2023 Short Film Review] ALICIA

ALICIA is the latest horror short from writer/director Tony Morales and co-writer Fer Zaragoza. In this short film which clocks in just under five minutes, we’re introduced to the blind Alicia (Naia de las Heras). Blind as a result of an unknown circumstance, the young girl is full of anxiety directed towards a mysterious old woman. Shown first through a shot of a blackened hand gently stroking the girl’s own hand, something is amiss. It’s just a matter of whether or not Alicia’s mother, Carolina (Ana del Arco), can get up to speed fast enough to save her daughter from whatever this old ghost woman (Alberto Tierrez) has in store for her.

There’s a little play on Lewis Carroll’s novel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, in this horror interlude. In this case, Alicia, with her sight completely taken from her, is perceiving things differently. Her body’s other senses are picking up things for her. In her case, she has noticed a mysterious old woman who has her sights set on her for whatever reason. This homage is noticed, in part, due to the quote mentioned in the beginning. Without the quote, it might not have been picked up due to its subtlety.

This is not the first time Morales and Zaragoza have focused their stories on young children. Morales’ familiarity with working with child actors pays off here. Naia de las Heras is fantastic. Her fear, the beats hit in her voice, they are believably well, and you easily want to reach through and try to protect her from whatever is to come. Where the short loses its scare factor is in its heavy reliance on its sound design to tell audiences when the scare is happening.

Music composition and sound can add or detract from the horror impact. Rely on it too much, and the score can overpower the dynamic of a shocking moment. It soon can be easily predicted when the next scare is to happen next, almost becoming a crutch in post once added in. While likely not the intention in ALICIA, the sound design distracted more than helped the viewing experience here.

As a launching point for a potential feature, ALICIA has plenty to offer. Questions are raised towards the end of the short connecting the young girl to some greater conspiracy by the old woman haunting her. With her mother too slow to catch up, the question of ‘what’s next?’ is easily raised. As a short simple horror short, the film works. If expanding into a feature, maybe pull back a tad bit on those dynamic sound cues.

ALICIA played as a part of the 2023 FilmQuest Festival.

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Sarah Musnicky

Editor-in-Chief/Co-Owner at Nightmarish Conjurings

Sarah is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Owner of Nightmarish Conjurings. Most may know her due to her desire to literally hug anything that could kill her, but also making sure that everyone is squared away and sanity is intact.

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