PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I am a fanatic about short films. It never ceases to amaze me how these films pack so much story in such a short amount of time. Jason Burke not only writes for PopHorror, but he is also a talented filmmaker. I hadn’t seen any of his films yet, so when the opportunity arose to review his short film, A Mother’s Dying Wish, I was beyond thrilled to finally get a chance to check out and review one of his films.
Jason is a positive, passionate, and encouraging creative and you can read more about him in our interview here. He shared some insight on the project with me and it is totally inspiring!
Let’s check out A Mother’s Dying Wish and my thoughts on this short film.
A Mother’s Dying Wish Synopsis
A dysfunctional family is forced to relive their traumatic past when they each receive a letter from their dead mother. She’ll do anything to put her family back together. See just how far she’ll go in this twisted tale of family drama mixed with shocking supernatural horror.
I was curious about the 48-Hour Film Project, so I asked Jason to give me a brief overview. Here is Jason’s response:
This film was made for the 48 Hour Film Project (Horror/Sci Fi Version) in Pittsburgh in October 2022. We randomly got assigned a genre (ours was Supernatural). You had to include a specific prop (Family Ring), Character (Skipper Carle, A Plumber) and Line of Dialogue (“I wish I still loved you like I used to.”)
The film has to be between 4-7 minutes, and cannot exceed 7 (minus credits). you have from 7PM on Friday until 7PM on Sunday to complete and send in everything.
Fun fact: I tripped and concussed myself at the kickoff party, right before we got our genre. This was my 10th 48HFP competition, but the first (and last) that I every directed and lead my own team on.
Check out the trailer!
My thoughts:
This film is spot on. I’m not sure how one creates something this good in such a short amount of time. It is so well put together, under the pressure and time constraints, it’s simply mind-blowing to me. I am in awe, Jason had a concussion while creating this! The story is timed perfectly. The cast does an excellent job of portraying their characters to the fullest. This is such a talented group of people who came together to make this work in a short time frame.
The premise is a group of siblings each receives a letter from their recently deceased mother. She wants them to be together and close, after her death, because they weren’t when she was alive. They meet in their mother’s classroom, per the instructions in the letter. It is there one of the sisters finds her mother’s ring, which sparks some not-so-fond memories of them growing up. It doesn’t end there. After the sister tries on the ring, a series of supernatural horror events occur.
The supernatural horror events are creepy and unsettling. While the premise may seem simple, it is well-developed given the short time frame. The special effects were on point as well. There are so many strengths in this film. The only “negative” is that I would love to see a longer version of this story!
My Final Thoughts
This film demonstrates creepy and unsettling supernatural horror. It takes a simple premise and develops it well and makes it its own, all in under 7 minutes. Definitely worth a watch and I am hoping that this film is developed into a longer film. A big thank you to Jason Burke for allowing me to review your film! I can’t wait to see more from you.
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