Horror In Short Day Two: ‘(Spek.ter)’
(spek.ter) (2008)
Runtime: 14 minutes
Directed by Terrence Kelsey
Reviewed by Marc Patterson
It’s day two of our “Horror In Short” Film Fest and today we’re featuring a taut psychological horror entitled (spek.ter) from an upcoming director, Terrence Kelsey. (spek.ter), a fancy play on words (or is that word – singular?), unfortunately can’t be shown here. It’s a fairly graphic film that is a hair bit too racy for most internet sites where the occasional minor can stray.
The film unfolds with a messy and grisly murder featuring a woman being hacked to death before cutting to images of another woman being photographed, apparently dead, in a tub of blood. While initially the two scenes might appear connected, it is quickly made clear that the latter is simply a woman photographing herself, inspired by real life death scene photos. (Ginger Snaps anyone?)
Dani (Keisha Jackson), the girl in the tub, is a gothic fetish pin-up model and a rather huge fan of Morgana Saint (Serena Toxicat), a goth music artist who also happens to be the woman we saw getting hacked to death in those opening moments. Lines between these two worlds quickly become blurred as the agonized spirit of Morgana victimizes Dani relentlessly.
Though the runtime of Spek.ter is a mere fourteen minutes, with only twelve of those belonging to the film proper, certainly acceptable for a short, Terrence Kelsey packs that runtime solid with action driven narrative without ever making the film feel claustrophobic. There are a good many feature length horror films that would take this same source material and stretch it into a wearisome ninety-minute affair. Indeed, in my many years of watching horror films (let’s not count so as to not age myself) I could point at a good half dozen or better who have.
At the center of the film is actress Keisha Jackson who puts on a brave act as Dani, appearing in most of film bereft of a lick of clothing. It’s not a move of total exploitation; though you can’t help but get a sense that some of this was purely gratuitous. Kelsey runs Jackson through an intense gauntlet, dousing her in blood, and pushing her physically, all for our viewing pleasure.
Full of eerie effects accomplished with simple effects work a la The Haunting, Kelsey works every frame to present a relentless film that will attack your senses and give you a real scare if you let the film work its magic, a task not so easy to accomplish with such a short run time.
Since we don’t have the film or a trailer to show you – take a look at the stills, and keep your eyes out for more from Mr. Kelsey.
Terrence Kelsey and Keisha Jackson
