Defarious (2016) – Horror Short Review

I love a well made horror short film. It’s not always easy to create something worthwhile in such a short time frame, but with the right storyline, directors, and characters, it can happen. But does it have the same impact as a full feature? I recently just watched Defarious, a 2016 horror short film and I received an answer to my question.

Produced by R&F Entertainment, Defarious was written and directed by Chase Michael Pallante and stars Janet Miranda, Jason Torres, Shanae Harris, and Sonia Sierra. The horror short is roughly a little over 11 minutes long but is still able to instill fear into its audience. According to the Defarious facebook page, this is a detailed definition of what the story is about:

“Defarious is about the difference in opinions of medical punishment within our world of diagnosed individuals of sleep paralysis and night terrors or in the world of what many other people believe to be spiritual manipulation. This one woman’s horrific nightmares are beginning to manifest so strongly she is disillusioned between her world of imagination and what is truly reality.”

From the very beginning, the intense eerie music gives you a sudden adrenaline rush you expect when something horrible is going to happen right off the bat. The fear only grows as the story goes on, not knowing if what the main character is seeing is real or not. The “monster” itself has a simple appearance, but the simplicity is also utterly terrifying and if you didn’t have night terrors before, you may have them now!

I believe without reading what this story is about… the audience won’t get the full effect of what the director is aiming for. Sleep paralysis is a horrible thing that affects so many people and night terrors leave you not knowing the difference between reality and your nightmares. Can you imagine how horrible that would be? This horror short gives an intense interpretation of what it would be and let’s just say I’m incredibly grateful that I don’t have this condition.

Defarious was nominated for many awards including:

Final Thoughts:

Early last year, I did a review for the documentary The Nightmare, which is about the horridness of sleep paralysis and Defarious reminded me of it. This horror short film brought to life what some people feel on a daily basis, letting audiences get a glimpse into their world. It’s a dark and relentless world that most of us hope to never encounter. Everyone check this short out, but you may wanna do it with the lights on and not before bed!