PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Taking over Salem, Massachusetts, Happenstance Horror Fest (HHF) provides an opportunity for horror of all subgenres to be shared with blood thirsty horror fans. For fans of queer cinema, HHF celebrates the LGBTQ+ community with its first-ever queer horror block, Fears With Queers.
Pride~In~Our~Steps
Directed By: Jonathan Riles
Synopsis:
Artists of the LGBTQIA+ community step forward to recite an animated poem reflecting their ideas of freedom.
With a runtime of 2 minutes, this animated poem shares the fears and struggles that queer people face on a near-constant basis. Featuring trippy and haunting visuals, the colorfully surreal animations feed into the chaos of everyday life for LGBTQ+ people. This short’s message is a strong start as it will stay with the viewer long after it ends.
The School of Rocky
Directed By: Chloe Niesz Kutsch
Synopsis:
A behind-the-scenes documentary short about the Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast, The School of Rocky.
Rather than focusing on The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), the short focuses on the environment that it facilitates. It celebrates the community felt not only in the microcosm of The Rocky Horror Picture Show but also in queer spaces. With the backdrop of the now 50-year musical, The School of Rocky shines a spotlight on all those who help keep the punk rock spirit of queer liberation alive.
Pimple Patch
Directed By: Noah Berc
Synopsis:
A mutated patch of pimples manifests on Nathan’s face right before a huge audition. With outside forces controlling his every move, he must decide whether to make a bloody sacrifice to book the role.
Pimple Patch is a gross-out body horror short that speaks to a higher level of body dysmorphia and what feels like a “mutilation” to adjust one’s body until they are happy with their appearance. It also plays into the struggles of people presenting themselves as they believe others would want to perceive them. The extra gore is sure to leave the viewer scratching their face in fear that they too have a breakout!
The Triangular Door
Directed By: Dylan Mars Greenberg
Synopsis:
The last survivors of an obliterated culture search for spiritual bondage in a reality show from hell. A salesman, a triangular door, a demon in the window with three faces. A miracle occurs. Shot on Super 8 film and narrated by Guy Maddin. Featuring Adam Green as the Earth’s Salesman.
The Triangular Door is the most surreal and artsy of the shorts in the queer block. It is a trippy take on the horrors of sexuality on a physical level and about living a non-standard life. This is highly open to interpretation and lovingly relishes in the chaos and pandemonium that ensues. The Triangular Door is so much more than a short; it’s an experience.
The Kiss
Directed By: Rob Ulitski
Synopsis:
A young woman’s post-pandemic anxiety reaches grisly new heights when she is confronted by tormented visions of intimacy.
The Kiss is as nasty as it is wholesome. With a blend of romance and bodily disfigurement, it highlights the fears of intimacy that exist in a post-COVID world. Avoiding human interaction shows how one can be led down a path of self-destruction.
Siren
Directed By: Luna Wolf
Synopsis:
Mika, a weary photographer, faces a nightmarish ordeal after her employer, Thomas, brings some strange props into the studio they are working at. Thomas meets a gruesome end, leaving Mika alone to confront an ethereal being aiming to draw her into a surreal realm. As Mika grapples with the monstrous entity, the boundaries between the ordinary and supernatural blur. Mika’s motorcycle, a symbolic extension of her identity, becomes a key element in this unsettling narrative, its duality as a mundane monster and ethereal force creating an eerie atmosphere. The story takes a poignant turn as Mika succumbs to the siren’s song, transcending the ordinary to find solace and understanding. However, dark secrets emerge, binding her to the siren’s nightmarish realm. The climax unfolds in a brutal confrontation, a visceral battle for survival in a nightmarish warehouse. Mika’s resilience shines in a shocking and powerful sequence, exploring themes of identity, trauma, and the blurred lines between the mundane and supernatural. Siren is a psychological horror immersing the audience in a nightmarish journey through the depths of the human psyche.
Siren is one of the more cinematic shorts featuring a full narrative experience. By including a fun creature design and a smidge of gore, director Luna Wolf has crafted a fun monster movie that will likely be the festival highlight for many viewers.
The Rewind
Directed By: Diana Porter & Mikel J. Wisler
Synopsis:
Josh is desperate to get back his wife, Nina. He turns to a new technology that allows users to re-live a difficult moment in the hope of learning important lessons, but soon discovers that Rewind therapy is not the magic fix he hoped for.
By focusing on the over-reliance on AI and technology to solve problems, this short mixes Black Mirror and a cruel twist that can only exist in a Tales From the Crypt comic. As AI becomes more common, The Rewind has the potential to become even scarier as time passes.
Twice As Shy
Directed By: Anjelica Hymel
Synopsis:
Rick has agreed to watch over his lifelong best friend, Jack, during his first full moon as a werewolf. Matters become worse when the protective cage becomes unlocked as the transformation begins.
Twice As Shy is the most emotional short, and it ends the horror block on a high note. It’s a bad idea to mix sex and friends, and it’s even worse to add werewolves to the mix! Twice As Shy is a heart-wrenching tale that shows the horror and anxiety of opening up and exposing one’s true self to others, even to a close friend.
Final Thoughts
You’ll laugh, you’ll leer, you’ll shiver, and you’ll cheer for these queer shorts. Even with a strong emphasis on queer issues, the shorts can be enjoyed by all lovers of horror. There’s just a bonus of nuances and subtext to be appreciated by queer viewers.
