As you fill your Halloween weekend with haunts, may we suggest you watch Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween, a collection of original horror shorts.
For Bite Size Halloween’s second year, a cohort of emerging filmmakers wrote and directed original horror movies to unnerve, terrify, and delight. Here are some bite-size reviews of a few from women and femme-identifying filmmakers.
Omi, written and directed by Kelly Fyffe-Marshall and co-written by Tamar Bird
These shorts are all quick; this one is micro. A father and son go fishing together on a gray lake; when the son falls in, he doesn’t come back up quite the same. “Omi” has a simple premise and brilliant twist done beautifully.
Daughters of Witches, written and directed by Faride Schroeder and co-written by Karen Acosta and Mario Muñoz
“I think it’s safe,” assures Clara (Academy Award Nominee Yalitza Aparicio), “In my family everyone does it.” The new mother takes her newborn to a remote forest in Mexico to participate in an ancient family tradition. Daughters of Witches uses ritual, family myth, and a very dark forest to create haunting beauty.
Occupational Hazard, written and directed by Ursula Ellis
Ellis’ oeuvre often focuses on the environmental and human destruction brought by industrial operations in Appalachia. In Occupational Hazard, that destruction turns monstrous. And the monster is expertly made; nights later, that image still appears in my mind when I turn out the lights.
Red Is the Color of Beauty, written and directed by Beck Kitsis
With a striking mall aesthetic, Red Is the Color of Beauty tells the story of the very real horror of the self-hatred women learn from beauty standards and ageism.
The New Nanny, written and directed by Bridget Moloney
A child is bullied for their gender expression. Then, they get a witch for a nanny, and she takes care of it. Fun and poignancy blend in The New Nanny.
© Amelie Lasker (10/30/21) Special for FF2 Media.
CREDITS & PERMISSIONS
Photo Credits: Thanks to Elizabeth Geli and 20th Digital Studio for the stills. All Rights Reserved.
