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★★★★
Directed by: #MarcCartwright
Starring: #NosheenPhoenix and #BakerChasePowell
Horror movies are a sure fire way to get some lady love action. You call up a chick, ask her over for a movie and popcorn...or Jaffa Cakes if you’re feeling more middle class, pop on a classic slasher flick and allow the fear to overwhelm her as you, the man keep her safe with your gorilla hands, making her feel safe until that light turns on in her head that you can protect her and so she gets all naked and shiz...that’s how it works right?
In honesty it actually has been scientifically proven you’re more likely to get laid on a date if you watch a horror movie. It’s called the snuggle factor, ergh that’s a lame name, it kind of makes it sound a bit wimpy. I’m calling it the stab and pork factor...boom, you’re welcome. And so it would seem that the young couple to grace our screens in short horror film Vexed are engaging in a bit of the old stab and pork
They sit down to enjoy a #slasher flick, much to the guy’s boredom, [clearly he does not care about getting some] but it’s not long after when he retires to the bedroom for sleepy time, that he starts to get paranoid, hearing sounds coming from the other side of the apartment...so it’s either cat-sized rats or an intruder...please be the rat, please be the rat, surely it’s a rat after the Jaffa Cakes.
Rudely, some folk in creepy masks [like those ones worn in The Strangers] bust into the crib and wreak some havoc, and our leading man is caught in a panic as they steal his woman, or did they???....ohhhhhh no it was just a dream of course, he fell asleep during the crappy horror his lady forced him to watch. I never saw it coming I swear.
Dream is over right, he can go back to looking up tits on his smartphone while his girlfriend watches the movie right?....Wrong. It’s not long until he is tormented by another intruder in the home, another beast from an unknown realm, but maybe the realm is not so unknown. He quickly discovers that he himself is inside the movie, he is the victim being chased for the audience’s pleasure, and who is the audience? His lady of course...bet she is gonna eat all the Jaffa Cakes now!
This short movie is a fun addition to the horror genre, and like Wes Craven's Scream in the 90’s, it chooses to poke fun at the genre itself. We are introduced to our leading man describing his boredom with horror flicks because they are predictable, setting us up for the usual dream sequence that we have become so accustomed to. Director Marc Cartwright knows the score with how these films usually pan out but decides to let us, the viewer enjoy the joke with him.
There are moments of true suspense as well, lighting and angles make us feel vulnerable in the apartment where they live, during the scene with the intruders you really feel the tension when they investigate the ‘’noise’’ coming from the lounge, an achievement with any short film.
This short is magnificent in terms of visuals and in regards to the storyline. It’s professional and clean and deserves the awards it has received so far. The acting from Baker Chase Powell is believable and engaging, but Nosheen Phoenix can sometimes come across a little forced with her delivery, but hey she is focused on knocking him off to get the snacks, she seems to be really focused on snacks now I come to think about it...popcorn is not that good, why does she love it so?
So for any fans of the #horror world, and especially those who have a soft spot for a bit of the black comedy Vexed is a must watch, but next time more cat-sized rats please.
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