Spooky shorts to put on
More reviews of nude-oriented shorts themed perfectly for Halloween
Halloween will be here before you know it, and it’s a good time to watch some creepy, spooky movies! Today, I have for you a selection of free short films you can watch right now to get in the mood for the season!
I’ll note there’s a bit of a common theme among most of these… see if you can figure it out, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on what makes it so common!
All Men Are Called Robert (2010)
Written and directed by Marc-Henri Boulier, this French short follows a nude man running through the woods, hearing a female voice calling his name as he’s pursued by an unseen hunter. This one’s pretty chilling, with a pretty great reveal late in the short that I don’t want to spoil here. 🚀
Performance art by Annie Lam and Catherine Ursin (2018)
It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t throw some dance in here somewhere, you know? This is an edited-down version of a performance by dancer/performance artist Annie Lam and painter Catherine Ursin, with live improvised music that’s, well, more noise than actual music. Not exactly spooky or horror I guess, but Lam’s dance is very Butoh-inspired, a Japanese dance form that I’ve grown fond of emulating myself lately. It’s a slow, dark form of dance, heavily improvised here by Lam, her nude body initially painted white while Ursin paints the floor, the clear plastic sheets that surround them, and Lam herself, which is the most compelling element to me. I love the way this combines dance with visual art, and the overall primal, primordial feel of the art, the noise, and Lam’s movements.
So yeah, not exactly spooky, but super inspiring. 🚀
Into the Mud (2016)
In this Spanish short written and directed by Pablo Pastor, a young woman wakes up nude in the woods, pursued by an older male hunter. This one isn’t terribly exciting, I wish there was more to the narrative, some more context for what’s happening, but I’m including it because there’s a fun twist at the end that’s worth the wait. 🚀
The Naked Eye (2021)
First off, let me start by saying: there is a beeping smoke detector in this short. The first time I watched it, I thought I was hearing one in my own home, and it was really confusing me, especially since I would pause it for minutes at a time before realizing. I mentioned this in my Letterboxd review and the director Luca Silver actually commented on that review with some devil face emojis, so…that was intentional!
Anyways! This may be the creepiest short of the bunch, or it may just bounce off of some people because of how slow it is, I’m not sure. Either way, this short is about a young man struggling to sleep on a hot night, deciding to get nude in order to try to get some rest and he is…well, rudely interrupted, shall we say? I’ll leave it at that. I enjoy the yellow tinge and deep blacks, it’s definitely the strongest cinematography in this lineup. 🚀
BONUS MUSIC VIDEO!
Joywave ft. Kopss - Tongues
Directed by Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), the mad geniuses behind the incredible Oscar award winning Everything Everywhere All At Once, this video follows a large group of nudists pursued through the woods by hunters with unconventional firearms. Doesn’t sound terribly different from previous videos, but trust me when I say things get WILD in this music video, it’s one of my absolute favorites. 🚀
When it comes to feature-length films, there aren’t very many in the nudist genre, and most of them are terrible, but I can recommend a personal favorite of mine, the absolutely insane film The Monster of Camp Sunshine, which I’ve previously reviewed. It, too, is available to stream for free on Tubi right now!
So… why do three of these shorts involve nudes being pursued through the woods? I think it’s partly because it’s a fairly cheap and easy setup when you’re working with a small budget, but there’s got to be something deeper going on, too, right? The Most Dangerous Game, the idea of being hunted, it’s a strong one that’s been visited plenty of times, and the added vulnerability of nudity does make it sharper. What are your thoughts? 🪐
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Check out Nightmare at Elm Manor, which can be found on Youtube. It is more of a glamour loop, but still is a bit creepy. Thank you for doing the reviews, I really enjoy reading them.