Wednesday shorts

Today we're going to take a look at three classic short films. Each one is very different from the others but each is a classic. Let's take a look at them one at a time.

                                  Film #1 is AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE.

                            

This short film is actually the longest the three reviewed today. This is a 1962 Academy Award winning film based on the story by Ambrose Bierce. It was also used as an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1964. Odds are you've seen this one but assuming you haven't I'll quickly lay out the plot.

During the Civil War, a man is about to be hanged off a bridge. The rope breaks and the man ends up swimming down the river, avoiding gunfire and attempts at capture. He makes his way back to his old home and as he embraces his beloved the rope drops and you realize the escape was a fantasy in the moments before his execution. Yep, I spoiled a film from 1962 that everyone has seen. But the point is you can watch it again on YouTube.

                                                          Film #2 is THE CONTRAPTION.


                             

As the YouTube file above states, this stars Richard O'Brien. He plays a nameless man who spends the short duration of the film building something in his basement. You'll have to watch this one to see exactly what he's making. It's pretty freaky and one short you should remember for a while. Definitely worth your few minutes to watch it.

And now for the final short of the day. I saved the scariest one for last.

                                             Peekaboo! It's THE DUMMY from 1982!

                                                             The Dummy at YouTube

Click that link to watch it as the YouTube uploader has disabled embedding for this film.

This one aired on HBO and USA during the early 80s and it's one scary little film. It's a killer ventriloquist dummy. That's all you need to know, but it's so eerie and creepy because the makers of this film obviously know the scary formula. They know the tricks of the horror trade to get this film to deliver a major case of the willies. This is genuinely a frightening little film.

So there you go, three short films with a widely different range. From the psychological horror of AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE, to the weird enigma of just what Richard O'Brien is constructing in THE CONTRAPTION, to the truly terrifying tale of THE DUMMY. We're here to serve.