Hag (Short)
Starring Drew Wicks, Megan Duffy, Eileen Dietz, John Franklin
Written and directed by Erik Gardner
Hag is an impressive 15-minute short written and directed by Erik Gardner, who most recently created the memorable short Blue Hole, which experienced a very successful festival run. Blue Hole was a creepy and atmospheric film and in Hag, Gardner gets even creepier and more atmospheric. It’s a very effective short.
The story (inspired by true events) revolves around Scott and Marie Somers. Marie is experiencing some serious sleep issues, waking up in the night, standing by the window and chanting, etc. Scott is doing his best to help his wife cope with this, but the issue becomes more intense and more extreme as the nights roll on. The two visit a counselor, but the issue does not improve. And suddenly, Scott finds himself in his own real life nightmare.
Hag builds tension beautifully. Sure, there are some impressive special F/X at the end of the movie (provided by one of the most memorable “Face/Off” contestants of all time, Eric Fox), but that’s not the strength of the picture. The power of Hag is Gardner’s ability to build tension and have audiences curling their toes with anticipation of a scare before it even happens. Some cool F/X do add some nice flavor to the film, but consider it the side dish to the tension. Gardner serves up stone cold tension.
Another strength of Hag is the casting. Megan Duffy shines in the role of Marie Somers. You will certainly recognize Duffy from her work on the remake of Maniac. She’s fantastically cute and has this ability to morph into a cool sexiness that adds great depth to her character. Duffy is fantastic and does a great job in making Hag the curious film it is. She’s joined by veteran actor Drew Wicks as her husband Scott and Children of the Corn alum John Franklin (who also played Cousin Itt in The Addams Family films of the ’90s) as the couple’s therapist. Horror fans will note the appearance of Eileen Dietz of The Exorcist who plays the hag.
Hag is a very entertaining 15-minute romp. It’s got tension, jump scares, cool F/X and some great performances. Duffy shines and the rest of the cast helps carry the film well. Writer/director Gardner scores with an impressive offering here. Hag is definitely one to be on the lookout for.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
