The Shed

Director(s) - Scott Dawson and David Sherbrook
Starring - Daniel Button, Heather Higginbotham, and R. Daniel Long
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror
Format - Streaming

Rating (out of 5):

     The last few weeks I have been searching social media high and low for indie horror films to review because I was tired of reviewing readily available films that you can easily purchase at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and FYE.  That searched resulted in so many great films.  The best part about writing for Horror Society is that sometimes the movies comes to me.  A few weeks back I received an email from Infestation TV about their new short The Shed.  They asked me to share it along with writing up a quick review.  Not being one to shy away from a movie, I graciously accepted and here we are now.
     The film follows a young couple that has to deal with the added stress of getting a new roommate.  Their new roommate is overly nice and very strange.  He stays up late at night making loud noises and has turned their shed out back into a locked mystery where he only visits at night.  This drives his new roommates mad with curiosity and they decide to finally see what is in the shed.  They wait until he is gone and then they break the locks off the door only to find that the shed has been turned into a confinement for something dark and sinister and the locks was the only thing keeping them alive.
     I have reviewed several shorts the last few weeks and most had a hard time working with the time they were given.  Some had a hard time getting the story going and then rushed to finish telling it or they added too much filler resulting in a boring short that could have been more effective if it was shorter.  The Shed used it's time wisely with character and story development while building up atmosphere and suspense.  The acting in this one is pretty solid.  The cast offers up some characters that feel real but are a little over the top which created a fun viewing.  The story is one we have seen before but it did add that TerrorVision vibe making it feel unique.  We have seen several horror and sci-fi flicks over the years that feature strange roommates doing something that could be deadly behind the other's back.  I immediately thought of Re-Animator in that aspect.  The creature, at least what you see of it, looked like it was heavily inspired by the horror sci-fi comedy TerrorVision.  This was a fun addition to the story but was not enough for us horror fans wanting monsters.  Finally, the film does have an on screen kill and it was more gruesome that I expected.  The film starts out with a bit of a light-hearted tone and then got bloody real quick.  The effects for this kill looks great but does show the no budget nature of the film.  The creature, what we get of it anyway, looks great and leaves us wanting more of it.  That was a bit of a let down.  Overall, The Shed is a great short that embodies everything I love about indie horror.  The film has great characters, a story that blends several horror classics, and a solid creature.  Well worth your time.  Check it out!