Static

Director - Anna Hammill (The Best of Intentions, Quarantine)

Starring - Mary Beth Eversole (The Social Dilemma, Office Chatter), Megan Farley (The Rite Gift, The Ace), and Shirley Jordan (Abbott Elementary, Linked by Love)

Release Date - 2023

Genre - Horror

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I love reviewing shorts but most filmmakers prefer to tackle a feature length film. While I understand the want to make a feature length film, I sometimes wish a filmmaker would realize that the story they are attempting to adapt doesn't have enough content to make a feature. Sometime back I was sent info on a short titledStatic from Macabre Productions. I wasn't able to get to it right away so I added it to my list to watch when I could. After recently watching a few other shorts that were sent my way for review, I decided it was time to check this one out. I'm glad I did because this one packed a punch. 

      The film follows a young woman speaking with her therapist about events leading up to a horrible incident. She's struggling with post-partem depression and her constantly crying baby only made matters worse. She then begins to hear voices tell her to "do it" before finally placing a pillow over the newborn's face. 

      I went into Static completely blind and found myself getting a gut punch of emotions. I'm a father of three and I have custody of my niece so any film that features a story like this will solicit a reaction out of me if it's done well. Static succeeded and and had me gutted. The acting in this one is fantastic. The cast is very small, but the performances are bigger than the film. The characters are very well written, and this small cast goes above and beyond to bring them to life. The story for this one is short, simple, and full of emotion. It's very effective to viewers that are in tune to their emotions along with parents or someone close to little ones. A mother struggling with depression after the birth of a child is no laughing matter and shows the horrors of the real world, as well as parenthood. It doesn't overstay, it's welcome and is very effective. Finally, this one doesn't have any blood and gore. Instead, it relies on the subject matter to get to the viewer instead of a body count. Overall, Static is a top-notch horror short that shows viewers that zombies and slashers are not the only thing in life to be afraid of. Check it out.