Shadows in Fog
This is a bit of a departure for me as I am about to review roughly half of an anthology. MonstersDotCom, which is available from Brimstone Media, consists of three short films – the screener I have is labelled Shadows in the Fog and contains two of the three films.
Last Stop Station
A tabloid journalist finds himself driving through the middle of nowhere and almost out of petrol. And when he finally finds a filling station, it appears to be deserted.
Just as our intrepid journalist starts to become frustrated, a light goes on behind a door and fog starts to emerge.
Out of the fog comes a group of hooded – and clearly non-human – figures, who proceed to fill his tank, check his tyres and clean his windscreen.
I’ll say this for cowled denizens of the otherworld – they certainly know the meaning of the word ‘service’.
Recognising the story of his career, the journalist starts taking photos… until the pump attendant taps on his window.
Not surprisingly, it wants his camera.
Eventually he hands it over and they let him go.
Blinded by dollar signs, he heads straight to the nearest motel and calls a fellow journalist, telling him to come with a video camera, a flash and some cash, and the pair of them head straight back to the (Texacowl?) filling station…
Last Stop Station is a well-made, witty, original and very entertaining film and is well worth getting hold of.
Shadows in the Garden
Shadows in the Garden struck me as being very reminiscent of Swamp Thing (the comics, not the films).
The film starts with a series of newspaper headlines telling us that a serial killer is still on the loose, that Lieutenant Green – the investigating officer – is missing and may be the killer’s latest victim and that people have reported seeing a ‘shy monster’.
Telling its story from the monster’s point of view, Shadows in the Garden is a touching – and largely dialogue free – tale of a monster trying to piece together fragments of memory to understand who – or what – he is.
It’s not difficult to identify the monster’s origin, but the film’s sympathetic portrayal of a very well conceived botanical beastie and its excellent storyline makes Shadows in the Garden a very well executed short that puts many of its bigger budget brethren to shame.
Both Last Stop Station and Shadows in the Garden tell quirky and original stories with a very effective visual flare. MonstersDotCom would be worth getting hold of for these two films alone.
Tuesday 09 Mar 2004 | Paul Pritchard | Horror
Love is the beacon that guides a solitary heart out of the fog of loneliness.