SCARE MONSTER is a micro-budget, Slasher Parody that is heavily influenced by Looney Tunes and Michael Myers. It is currently making the rounds at Horror Festivals and Showcases that celebrate filmmaking on a tight budget.
Seriously silly scary story spoof specializes in satirizing slashers specifically so seek this silly sight.
Scare Monster is the horror/comedy inspired by Halloween (1978) and Looney Tunes. It’s about a little girl with the ability to scare people to death, literally. When two local kids find out there in danger, they use their wacky tactics to protect themselves.
Written and directed by Adam Harper, the playful tone is immediately set when introduced to the titular villain. He uses a wide array of close-ups, first-person POVs, different angles, and handheld cameras to create a cartoonish atmosphere. The uncredited kids he cast steal the show giving adorable over-the-top performances with gusto. The score is reminiscent of the original Halloween and other 70s slashers. It acts as the icing on the cake, giving an already sweet treat extra tantalizing goodness.
Overall, Scare Monster bounces between the spirit of old-fashioned slashers the vivid evocation of the looniness of cartoons. It’s very reminiscent of the Airplane! and Naked Gun films acting as a spoof or parody of the horror genre. The child actors seem very comfortable on camera with very natural performances. Adam Harper took his notes for the Halloween Handbook and put them to good use for the story structure and score. I highly recommend this. It’s available on YouTube for free. And remember, when Scare Monster is lurking around the corner, it won’t be long before you say that’s all folks!
10/10
Sunday Shorts: Scare Monster
October 31st 2021
Children in Horror Movies typically fall into a familiar trope. They are depicted as flat, leering, idle, creepily staring into the distance (see the Grady Twins of The Shining, Damian in The Omen, or Charlie in Hereditary for example). This is done for practical reasons. To put it bluntly, children are not very versatile performers, so the less they have to do the better.
It’s best to tell the story around them, use the camera and music to build the tension, and take the pressure off the poor kiddos. And it’s often effective. The stillness of a child is unnerving; it creates an effective aura of foreboding danger. Ask any parent and they’ll tell you when the kids go quiet, that is the moment to raise the alarm.
There are obvious exceptions, and some young actors have churned out marvelous performances. Linda Blair in The Exorcist immediately comes to mind, as does Macaulay Culkin in Good Son or Isabelle Fuhrman in Orphan. But those portrayals are not especially kidlike; there is an adult calculation to their performance.
Of course, this is also quite effective at raising the inner alarms of the viewer.
However, never (at least to my knowledge) has a kid-killer been portrayed with the same sweet honesty as the main villain in Scare Monster. Like a hybrid of Michael Myers and Looney Tunes, she joyfully skips from victim to victim as if playing a game, blissfully unaware of the trail of bodies she leaves in her wake. Perhaps her cute charm is what allows her to lure her prey close enough for the kill, like a Venus Flytrap luring its victims with sweet nectar.
By allowing the children of Scare Monster the freedom to bring their sweet authentic selves, the short film creates a lovely contrast that makes this short a big-hearted horror-comedy that’s perfect for your Halloween viewing.
Scare Monster (2021) is an ultra short film (3 minutes) directed by Adam Harper that shows us the story of the ‘Scare Monster’… a four year old little girl (who’s cute a button) who literally scares people to death.
I can’t say its scary. I can’t say the deaths are anything to speak of. But what I can say, as a parent, is that I had a smile on my face the entire time I watched this. Director Harper said on his FB page: “I made this short film with some friends two weeks ago. It started with us saying “let’s just make a movie for the sake of making a movie,” and it ended in this bighearted horror-comedy.”
As you watch the film, you can tell the kids are having a blast and the ‘parents’ (I’m assuming) are along for the ride. This seems to be a nice little project that everyone involved enjoyed making. In a world full of social media where everyone is complaining ALL the time I find hope in the fact that films like this exists. It’s people making films for the sake of making films and enjoying what they’re doing.
I’d be remiss to not point out the simply awesome synth soundtrack here. Right in this 45 year old’s wheelhouse.
Give it a watch below… it’ll take you 3 minute and hopefully brighten your day.