Short films are like Hi-Chews — bite-size flavor explosions that should be savored before moving onto the next one, and the one after that. Given the bottomless well of compelling shorts that exist, we decided to carve out a space where we could gush about our favorite discoveries. Shorts That Tore Our Heads Off is an ongoing series of articles exploring underseen short films from all centuries. The only criteria for inclusion is that each one has to . . . well, tear our heads off. Every volume will cover five shorts in chronological order that deserve to be appreciated and re-watched anywhere from three to fourteen times before you die.
Hold onto your head!
Hands of Justice (Mike A. Ruggiero, 1981, Something Weird DVD)
Who needs Frank Castle when we have Roy Canteen? Rescued from oblivion as an extra on Something Weird’s out-of-print Carnival of Blood DVD, Hands of Justice follows teenage vigilante Canteen as he seeks revenge against a mugger who stole his life savings. A Super 8 home movie that was clearly inspired by thousands of comic books and one Death Wish, this 6-minute chaos opera is a stupefying ode to psychotic DIY violence. Eyeballs plucked out by switchblades! Guts that came from a chicken! Fireworks exploding on kids’ chests! I can’t decide what I loved more: the scene where Canteen drop-kicks a severed head across a suburban street, or this end credit: “Special thanks to Butchers of Grand Union.” Regardless, JUSTICE IS SERVED.
Possibly in Michigan (1983, Cecelia Condit, Vimeo)
I could watch this movie 3000 times and it still wouldn’t be enough. Possibly in Michigan is part of a series of experimental video shorts by artist Cecelia Condit that served as a coping mechanism after she unknowingly dated a real-life murderer. Presented as a day in the life of two women as they deal with a male stalker, this is cathartic surrealism at its most inspiring. Condit uses Casiocore songs (written and performed by Karen Skladany, who also stars in the film), multimedia collage, and crude bloodshed to build an anxious netherworld—one where grotesque secrets lurk behind every rubber animal mask. But through it all, Condit’s resolve is crystal clear. I’m awed by her ability to confront personal demons with such a savage sense of humor (“They had two things in common: violence and perfume.”). Possibly in Michigan is an essential watch for anyone with a beating heart, and one of the most important shot-on-video horror films in history—even at 12 minutes long.
Say No to Drugs (1987, Timothy O’Rawe, Camp Motion Pictures DVD)
Thanks to this movie, I know what it looks like when the Grim Reaper removes someone’s eyeball with a vacuum cleaner. Say No to Drugs is a 10-minute Super 8 materialization from Timothy O’Rawe that appears as an extra on the DVD of his film The Basement. The minimalist mood piece follows the Reaper as he eviscerates three heroin addicts in a small apartment. Filled with ambient synth twinkles and incessant screaming, this was obviously made to showcase some heavenly homemade splatter effects—including a scene where a dude’s liver is removed with a power drill and he’s forced to eat it. But my favorite moments are the eerie, artful scenes of the Reaper stalking through a cemetery on a winter night. O’Rawe gets extra points for making the decision to include exactly one line of dialogue in the short: “What the . . . FUCK?!”
The Early ’70s Horror Trailer (1999, Damon Packard, Other Cinema DVD, YouTube)
This would be a perfect opening act for Jim Van Bebber’s The Manson Family. Shot on 16mm by singular filmmaker Damon Packard and originally released as part of Other Cinema’s Experiments in Terror DVD series, The Early ‘70s Horror Trailer isn’t a spoof or parody; it’s a 9-minute experimental collage that resembles Manson family home movies as directed by Dario Argento. Combining spectral 1970s-era visuals (hooded figures, people with bloody faces running in slow motion, kaleidoscopic effects, triple split screens) with pilfered Ennio Morricone scores and bits from random trailers, this is a concentrated overdose of gorgeous horror-mood. If Packard’s colossal Reflections of Evil is like eating a XXL pepperoni and cocaine pizza with hot sauce, Early ‘70s Horror Trailer is like devouring pizza rolls with a side of edibles. It’s more mellow and earthy, but still retains Packard’s spastic editing style and hyper-focused sound design. I love this so much.
Asian Girls (2018, Hyun Lee, YouTube)
Not all movies have to make sense. In fact, intentionally mystifying films can sometimes feel even more meaningful. In Asian Girls, the debut short from Korean-Australian filmmaker Hyun Lee, pop singer Rainbow Chan stars as a seamstress who has an unhealthy obsession with her neighbor . . . and eggs. Utilizing intense dynamic shifts, stunning photography, and nerve-shredding sound design, Lee places her subjects in an icy urban setting that bounces between unsettling daytime activities (eating hardboiled eggs that are dyed black) and even more unsettling nighttime activities (straddling your neighbor as she sleeps while wearing a moisturizing mask). Asian Girls is light on logic, but heavy on anxiety. Although it feels like a demo version for a bigger project, this 6-minute phantasm echoes through my brain more than most movies that are fifteen times longer.
Read Shorts That Tore Our Heads Off: Volume 1!
Read Shorts That Tore Our Heads Off: Volume 2!
Read Shorts That Tore Our Heads Off: Volume 3!
Read Shorts That Tore Our Heads Off: Volume 5!
Read Shorts That Tore Our Heads Off: Volume 6!
Read Shorts That Tore Our Heads Off: Volume 7!
Read Shorts That Tore Our Heads Off: Volume 8!
