The Visitor

This is a short film about a lady who has seen a mysterious figure in her home two years in a row. It is always in the same room and it is always counting backward. However, this is the year its countdown is going to end and Gail (the lady who sees the figure) is convinced that this specter is going to herald in something terrible this particular year. She is married and her husband along with her brother are throwing a sort of party of sorts. Lot's of drinking and with all the people there nothing bad should happen is the assumption. So the movie basically progresses to the party and you are anticipating something really scary or creepy about to happen as the time when the ghost appears is approaching rather rapidly. A couple of guests leave during this time, but you are still left wondering what is about to happen. I do not want to spoil it for you, but the time of buildup is certainly more well done than the actual conclusion to this little short film. It is well shot and it has good music, nothing about it says cheap. It is like a movie in every way as it just looks and sounds rather good and the story is rather interesting too. It just fails to impress at the end and that is sort of the most important part of a horror short.

Gail has reason to be unnerved. For the last two years, at the same exact time and on the same day, a ghost has appeared to her and announced that something is coming. Now, as the third year approaches, she is filled with apprehension and dread. Her significant other, however, isn't so much afraid as he'd like to show her that everything will be okay by inviting all their friends to come that night--after all, it IS her birthday as well.

This short film really surprised me, as I usually don't like ghost stories. However, director Stephen Hughes (who co-wrote this story with Jason Korsner) did a fantastic job building the level of suspense throughout--almost forcing me to keep watching. And, fortunately, unlike many tales of the supernatural, this one had an excellent payoff--one that really was chilling and wrapped up the story very well. See this film