Hello ladies ad gentlemen, your pal Muldoon here with this week's selection of short films from around the internet. Each short below was submitted by the filmmakers themselves, which is something I can't help but think is pretty cool. We have shorts from SATURDAY SHORTS veterans, as well as from fresh filmmakers with their own unique tales. If you're looking for blood, gore, puppets, drama, or a parody sketch highlighting the absurdity of fidget spinners in the hands of adults - kaboom - you've coem to the right place. If none of those topics seems to reach out to you, well... hell... check them out anyway, because each of the shorts below kick a decent amount of butt and deserve to be seen! Whatever ride you feel like taking, buckle up and let me take the wheel for the next hour and I'll be sure to show you a few cool sights. The point is to simply enjoy seeing something new, right? Okay. Let's do this.
Go grab yourself some popcorn, lock your kids in a closet, kill the lights, relax and check out this little weekly film fest we've got ourselves here!
THE MIDNIGHT SERVICE - HOME INVASION
TRT: 7:12
To kick the doors open on this week's selection of shorts we have an oddity, an episode of THE MIDNIGHT SERVICE from Brett Potter and Dean C. Marcial. "The Midnight Service is a scripted true-crime series about the unknown across America," and as a fan of UNSOLVED MYSTERIES/SIGHTINGS/etc... this is a show that's right up my alley, especially in the hands of Brett and Dean. "In "Home Invasion", a broke Miami comedian's retreat into the Everglades is interrupted by an uninvited visitor." If you like what you see, then head over to the show's website or follow the filmmakers on Twitter! (Brett = @br3ttpott3r / Dean = @dcmarcial)
SWARM
TRT: 3:12
Next up is a creepy crawly of a tale from Alyssa and Griffin Devine of PigRat and Crypt TV. Whatever your level of freak out is in regards to cockroaches and bugs galore (on a scale of "complete indifference" to "holy shit! Kill it with Fire!!!"), you will find this horror short nothing short of freaky fun. This one feels like a tiny slice from a CREEP SHOW pizza, one topped with bugs, slime, and absurdity. I love it. I can't want to see what PigRat does next and am gald this is part of the Crypt TV world - two groups of folks I'm a fan of. Check out Crypt TV's Youtube Channel or Facebook Page, and don't forget to head over to PigRat's website to see what else they've knocked out!
RAIN
TRT: 14:45
Before SATURDAY SHORTS, I thought the world of puppets were solely isolated to the eyes of kiddos with programs like SESAME STREET or BARNEY. Silly.... silly Muldoon. Filmmaker Matt Glass is here to completely obliterate that misconception with RAIN. "One town, sixty years without sunlight or rain, a tyrant who controls the only source of water for the people and a mysterious wanderer offering a bright side to it all." RAIN is a gorgeous reminder of how cool cinema can be, it's a story told in a way that only Glass could imagine. Wildly, wildly well done. Great designs fill every frame of this short, and ultimately add up to something truly remarkable. I'm a fan. If you're curious about the film and want to know more, click over to its website and poke around, or check out Glass's site as well!
BLISS N ESO - "BELIEVE"
TRT: 3:41
If you're no stranger to SATURDAY SHORTS, then you know when James Chappell has a new music video, there's a strong chance it'll have a home here! His visuals are on another level, and consistently delivers quality work. "A young boy is viciously bullied at school by three older tormentors. At the lowest depths of despair, Death visits the boy presenting to him a supernatural vision of his much older self. Death's vision reveals a long life that he never believed was possible. Through this newfound belief and emboldened with indestructible "gold" confidence he can now face his fears." If you at all enjoy what you see below, don't even think to hesitate to check out his website.
BLISS N ESO | Believe from James Chappell on Vimeo.
PALE STRANGER
TRT: 7:55
Timothy Mather of Odd Society Films has our next short, a tight thriller that says "hello" then kicks your butt and leaves you wanting more, all under 8 minutes. "When ex-con Ryan is released from prison he looks up his former partner, Keli, to figure out who set him up and what his next move will be. With the bulk of their ill gotten gains stashed away he has to decide if he trusts her, or keeps the loot for himself." Be sure to check out the Odd Society Films Vimeo Page for more!
Pale Stranger [2016] from Odd Society Films on Vimeo.
FIDGET SPINNERS IN THE WORKPLACE
TRT: 2:39
To wrap us out for the week, we've got a short sketch from the folks at XVP Comedy. Back in my days we didn't have these fancy schmancy fidget spinners... we had Pogs, and Yo-Yos, DigiPets, and... well I guess every generation needs something stupid to buy, right? Fidget Spinners are all the rage and are annoying school teachers left and right, but what if it wasn't jsut kids who played with these? What if you caught a coworker spinning this thing in the middle of a meeting? The more I think about these things, the more I feel like screaming "Get off my lawn!" At any rate, the XVP Comedy folks found an opportunity to inject some humor into that fad, and that's what we have here as the last video of the week. I strongly suggest you check out the XVP Comedy Youtube Channel if you find the below video as giggle worthy as I do!
BAM! That's it for this week's selection of cool shorts (and videos to be honest). I just hope you caught something you enjoyed, something you simply might not have seen otherwise. I have a very cool lineup set for next week that features a handful of films I wanted to feature with today's picks. Remember, if you've got a story to tell - write it, schedule it, shoot it, and send it my way!
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
SATURDAY SHORTS 2015
SATURDAY SHORTS 2016
Pizza Delivery; Forever's Gonna Start Tonight; Epoch; Points Of Origin; Knack! (1/7/17)
Capes; Out Of The Family; Noodles; The Great Orecto; Orphans Of Ash Concept Trailer (1/14/17)
Dr. Gordz; Gleep-Glorp & Lasertag; Mindgame; Quad Diamond; From Below; Killer Queen (1/22/17)
Never Tear Us Apart; Hushy Bye; American Pride; The Restless; 2031 (2/4/17)
Wifey Redux; Whale Valley; Have Had; When The Saints (2/12/17)
The Man From Death; Tail; Whispers Among Wolves; Thing One "Nice Wife" (2/25/17)
Gravy; The Girlfriend Game; Cavern; The Horror; I'm a Homeless Princess (3/11/17)
If you have a short and think it belongs here or are on the fence about whether to send it in, please do send it in - I'd love to see what you've put together. I've already seen hundreds of fresh new filmmakers' shorts and like any good addict, I need more!
Shoot me an email at "Mike@aintitcool.com"
In the subject line include:
“SHORTS” + “Your film’s name” + “The film’s genre”
Then, in the body of the email, please include a synopsis of the film and any contact information you might think I need or would want published. The more info you send my way, the more info there is to put with your short.
Please don’t feel the need to submit multiple times.
Remember, the filmmakers might still be in the audience, so feel free to share your thoughts in Talkbacks below. (JUST DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE). I picked them, so you know I think highly of all of these, but how about you fine folks? How'd you like 'em?
BY THE WAY: If you've had a short featured here, that means that I personally am a fan of your work, so feel free to shoot me any kind of news on new projects/films/whatever. I can't say I'll be able to help or in what capacity, but I'm interested in your work and am always down to see more! (Keep making cool stuff, everyone!)
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
