No Way Out

As someone who watches far too many horror films I'm often struck by how many film makers have misunderstood the technique of scaring the pants off the audience . The Horror Channel in particular is a show case where directors and screenwriters seem to think gorehounds are the only market interested in horror and feel the need to graphically depict torture and mutilation unto the audience . What happened to the good old days when someone wanders around a dark forest and outside of frame there's all sorts of creepy sounds ? This type of horror worked very well for DOCTOR WHO in the 1960s and 70s where an audiences imagination did all the work for them

Watching this horror short by Kristoffer Aaron Morgan and Eric Vespe I was struck by how director and screenwriter had found this lost art . A man in fear of his life locks himself in a dark shack as he's pursued by unearthly creatures that we only catch a glimpse of , but at the same time a glimpse that makes us think they're squid like , a squid being that most nightmarish creature of evolution . All this is very involving and I was on tenterhooks wondering how this scenario was going to develop . Unfortunately NO WAY OUT then blows it by then creating a scene that revolves around gore almost as if to placate an audience who are expecting gore as if that's all there is to the horror genre which is far from the truth . It would also be physically impossible for the protagonist to carry out the actions seen here and remain conscious . This means it also falls in to the trap of the horror genre and that is crucial elements of scientific fact and logic are painfully ignored . This is a pity because for the mot part this short has a lot to commend then blows it at the end

A man is trapped in some sort of dark basement, hunted by unseen creatures he cannot escape. I watched this short film without knowing what it was about and, in many ways I end it in precisely the same state. The film is a horror and we join it without any context or story, just the sight of a man escaping a creature in a dark basement somewhere – and from the appearance of him it is clear that he has been doing this for a little while since he is desperate, terrified and bloodied. From here we get some nice dusty tension before the gore starts.

At this point the tension in the film is very well done and the basement has a lot of atmosphere with its well designed storage of old, rusty things creating loads of shadows. The reveal of a creature is well done and the we move to the specific final scene. At this point the film because so gory and graphic that it is hard to watch, but in a good way. The use of sound in creating the final few actions is really important and it is painful to watch and think about, while even closing my eyes and wincing did nothing since the noise was in my ears, constantly reminding me what was going on. It is really well done on this regard but unfortunately the film is only about this – about making the viewer feel uncomfortable and unnerved; there isn't a reason or plot or even really a satisfying conclusion to the short and it is a real shame because it had worked so effectively at what it had done well, that I wanted more from it when it came to this.

AJ Bowen is very good in the lead (only!) role and he convinces with the terror and horror of the situation. Cinematography and set design really get the most from the location and, like I say, it does this stuff very well indeed – I just wish it had used these qualities as a means to an end as opposed to being the all as they were.