14 DAY TRIAL // There’s something very scary about some children and dolls, especially if you go to great lengths to build around them a universe that makes their uniqueness stand out. I don’t mean by that that all kids are scary, but rather that some of their most endearing qualities – like their soft voice – can be turned into the stuff that nightmares are made of, in the right hands.
The horror genre has long noticed that kids and dolls are a necessary ingredient for success, so filmmakers made sure to include them in almost every release. As we speak, “Annabelle” is running in theaters, the story of a demon doll that first appeared in the blockbuster “The Conjuring.”
But we digress. Today’s proposal for Viral of the Day is proof that you don’t need a 100-minute film to get a good scare or experience solid filmmaking as far as the horror genre goes. Heck, you don’t even need a full minute to get all that, let alone an overinflated budget, lots of props and a numerous cast.
Director Ignacio F. Rodó needed just two actors, one of whom is a kid, of course, a bedroom set, a camera and under 1 minute. 50 seconds, to be more precise.
The result is a micro short film called “Tuck Me In” that is a new take on the “monster under my bed” trope and that’s particularly chilling because it inverts places between the “monster” and its “victim.” It’s also particularly scary because it’s so simple, unembellished, which makes its sense of dread feel more “natural” than in most productions of the kind.
“Tuck Me In” is based on a story by Juan J Ruiz, and stars Luka Schardan and Mark Schardan. Enjoy!