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!
Kitchen Sink (Alison Maclean, 1989, Strand Releasing DVD)
This New Zealand short makes that sink scene from The Blob look like an episode of Alf. Kitchen Sink, a 16mm sludger from Alison Maclean that was included as an extra on the DVD of her feature-length film Crush, finds an unnamed woman at odds with a mutated being that emerges from her drain. This is thirteen minutes of perfectly orchestrated tension, punctuated with clever edits, squirmy practical effects, and an industrial-styled score by The Headless Chickens that wouldn’t feel out of place in Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Instead of flinging intestines at the wall, Kitchen Sink leans into a mysterious, emotional core—and that’s what makes it so memorable. Pair with the Melvins’s Gluey Porch Treatments for a dreamy night of pure evil.
Das Wiener Kettensägenmassaker (Martin Nechvatal, 1993, YouTube)
Seeing a child get torn apart has never been more adorable. Das Wiener Kettensägenmassaker is what happens when kids in Vienna grab a camcorder, one real chainsaw (!), and twenty pounds of animal guts to recreate scenes from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in an elaborate gonzo-gore style that’s more Nathan Schiff than Tobey Hoopey. These mini-outlaws also reproduce the “splinter to the eyeball” scene from Fulci’s Zombie while simultaneously ruining someone’s cashmere sweater. Das Wiener might be repetitive. But the sight of some kid acting out their own version of Leatherface’s iconic victory dance from the original film is like injecting an overload of Serotonin in my brain. The 16-minute short opened with the onscreen words “Bad Taste Entertainement [sic] presents,” and that pretty much says it all.
Blood of Havana (Harmony Korine, 2010, Drag City DVD)
Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers isn’t a “proper” horror movie. But for me, it’s one of the most unnerving horror experiences of the 2000s. Blood of Havana is Korine’s follow-up, and it arguably makes more narrative sense than its predecessor. The 3-minute short—shot with a Harinezumi toy camera and included as an extra on the Trash Humpers DVD—follows a depressed Humper as they wander around Havana in a bath robe while we hear their disturbing thoughts. On the surface, this is a cute snapshot of someone in a Bad Grandpa mask spooking some strangers. But the subtext is more horrifying, because Blood of Havana reminds us that we have no way of knowing what’s going through people’s minds at any given time. This short was originally part of Imperfect as They Are, an exhibition held in New York and Tokyo featuring Harinezumi-shot films from Claire Denis, Park Chan-wook, and Bruce LaBruce. Now THAT’S a night at the museum.
Sacerdotisa (Christian Santiago, 2020, Vimeo)
There are a lot of movies that explore witchcraft. None of them are quite like this. The debut short from filmmaker Christian Santiago, Sacerdotisa remixes elements of The Craft into a D.I.Y. mood piece that connects witches to deeper themes of race and family—all through the eyes of Selina, a multiracial teenager who just wants to smoke weed, talk shit about astrology, and perform a ritual or two. The 30-minute film floats by on a cloud of impressive Scope compositions, chilly synth waves, and surprisingly poignant moments. But Santiago’s choice to transfer the film to VHS and back is what makes it really shine. The tape degradation isn’t a novelty, but an aesthetic choice that suggests the fuzzy echo of memories; a perfect accompaniment to the subject matter. Sacerdotisa also gets a million extra points for including a True Blue song on the soundtrack.
The Flypaper Spectacular (2022, Luke Liberty, YouTube)
If a parallel world exists, I hope it’s a lot like this. The first film project from music collective Wolfmen of Mars, The Flypaper Spectacular was conceptualized as a “lost animated television special” from beyond the barrier of reality. Utilizing rotoscope animation and a rainbow of lysergic colors, the 8-minute short blends cosmic horror situations with the aura of a sun-baked VHS copy of Disney’s Halloween Treat. The proggy synth soundtrack by Wolfmen of Mars plays like a long lost sequel to Mort Garson’s Ataraxia: The Unexplained and the visual language reminds me of an upside-down version of the town where Beavis and Butt-head live. Plan a double feature with Beyond the Black Rainbow and never look back.
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 4!
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!
