The Contraption (1977)

4 / 5  Jun '11
Tagline:  James Dearden
Written by:  James Dearden
Actors include:  Richard O'Brien, Charlotte Cornwell
Genre:  Horror, Short, Mystery
Length:  8 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:

Such strange little short film, I can honestly say I've seen nothing like it before and that's too bad really.  It's so simple yet so entertaining, it's definitely memorable as well.  It starts out like a Home Improvement show as watch a man maniacally build....yes a contraption.  We don't know what it is until of course it's used so hang in there (it's only 8 minutes c'mon here).  It's actually silent barring one line of dialogue at the end, but it doesn't need words.  Not much I can say without giving anything away so just watch it here and be amused: 

Availability:  I don't believe it's on DVD

Panic (1978)

5 / 5 June '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: James Dearden
Written by: James Dearden
Actors include: Julie Neesam, Peter Blake, Avis Bunnage
Genre: Horror, Short
Length: 17 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Wow what a fantastically creepy little short story, especially considering I haven't heard very much about it. This is the sort of film that doesn't smack you over the face with the horror, it's subtle but oh so effective. It's about a young woman called Mandy who we watch get in a spat with her boyfriend. She drives off into the rainy night and decides to perform an act of kindness by picking an old Woman (who happens to be the creepiest hitch-hiker I've ever seen) at the bus stop. She quickly becomes weirded out by this Woman and fakes a flat tire to get her out of the car. The old Woman leaves the bag she was clutching in the car, and this is where the horror begins. It's so gosh darned effective, I really couldn't ask for much more in such a short amount of time. This tale was remade as Turn Left (2006) which throws in a hint of the gratuity that this one didn't have, but it wasn't nearly as frightening.

Availability:  Not on DVD I don't think