NON-CANONICAL: ARROW’S SHARP SHORTS

A collection of bitesize terrors streaming on Arrow this month

A collection of short horror films streaming on Arrow in February. Trigger warnings for discussions of depression and mental health.

SMILE (DIR: JOANNA TSANIS, 2021)

We should probably touch on the fact that Joanna Tsanis’ effective short shares both a title and some of the themes with Parker Finn’s 2022 feature. Nor can it be said that Tsanis beat him to the punch with the idea, as Finn’s film was based on his own 2020 short Laura Hasn’t Slept.

But while Finn was able to utilise creepy, uncanny visuals to create a viral marketing campaign, the six-minute short from Tsanis is an effective chiller, that slowly builds to a truly disturbing practical effects finale. Konstantina Mantelos plays Anna, a young woman suffering from depression, encouraged by her well-meaning, but ill-informed mother (Ashley Laurence) to smile more.

The build-up to the finale isn’t anything particularly original – Anna’s depression manifests itself into a physical haunting – but Tsanis has an excellent sense of timing, using every frame to build tension. Then there’s the ending, with practical effects created by The Butcher Shop FX Studio, which bring the title to gory, uncomfortable fruition. Smile is a one-shot film but what a shot that is.

ITCH (DIR: SUSANNAH FARRUGIA, 2021)

Itch taps into a longstanding film tradition of turning the suppressed desires of nuns into physical manifestations. Here, Sister Jude (Loren O’Dair) develops a severe, itchy skin condition as she struggles with her feelings for Sister Agatha (Alexandra Dowling).

If the setup isn’t particularly original, writer/director Susannah Farrugia excels in making the material memorable. Shot in gorgeous black and white, the practical effects look particularly gruesome, and as Jude’s mental health deteriorates, Itch descends into feverish body horror.

At just eight minutes long, this is a concise cocktail of effective, disturbing shots, held together by great performances from the small cast. While it’s a story we’ve seen writ large many times before, this is a great showcase for new talent in the horror sphere.

THE WYRM OF BWLCH PEN BARRAS (DIR: CRAIG WILLIAMS, 2023)

There’s something of the BBC’s Ghost Stories for Christmas about this debut, Welsh language short from writer/director Craig Williams. Shot on 16mm film, it has a tactile, grainy feeling about it and looks stunning – although any film shot in the Welsh mountains would struggle to look anything but.

Filmed on location in Rhuthun (Ruthin), it follows three men (Bryn Fôn, Seán Carlsen and Morgan Hopkins) who must take a sacrifice (Morgan Llewelyn-Jones) into the mountains to appease an evil spirit. The performances are excellent. Most of the film takes place in the car, as they collect their target, with each of the men tasked with this deed flipping between reluctance and determination. Williams is also careful never to reveal too much. We’re never told exactly why these sacrifices must happen, although the clipped dialogue explains that it is happening more often, and we never see whatever it is the community is keeping at bay.

Keeping everything off-camera gives The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras a classic sort of horror, leaving the true terror in the audience’s mind. Coupled with a droning soundtrack produced by Dafydd Ieuan & Cian Ciarán of the Super Furry Animals, this feels like both a tribute to the UK’s folklore horror history and a platform for a new talent.

THE MONKEY'S PAW (DIR: BEN CAPLAN, 2022)

The resurrection of Hammer Films in late 2023, alongside the announced resurgence of Amicus is no doubt a good sign for British horror films.

Alongside Doctor Jekyll (Dir: Joe Stephenson, 2023), this half-hour adaption of W. W. Jacobs’ short story is the first indication of what this revitalised Hammer Films will look like.

To be frank, it’s not the most audacious start. This is beautifully shot, and well acted by the small cast, but it is a very safe adaption - and an adaption of a text that has been seen many times before. As such, this feels unremarkable.

While I would in no way suggest that Hammer move completely away from its retellings of classic texts, it would have been nice to see something more representative of the British horror industry. Just looking at the other shorts available on Arrow in the same month, The Monkey’s Paw feels antiquated, without any of the flair that The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras brings to its throwback style.

It’s a safe start for Hammer, one that is unlikely to raise eyebrows or provoke too much excitement, but one which the company will hopefully build on going forward.