When I was six years old I saw the movie Scream. As you might imagine this very much so turned me away from the whole slasher/horror movie genre; however, I recently stumbled upon Nick Everhart’s latest film Slash-In-The-Box and it is a tremendous piece of work.
Following in the footsteps of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, Slash-In-The-Box was shot inexpensively and in a very short period of time (one night and two thousand dollars). While a lot of directors completely fail to shock their audiences on such a small budget, Everhart managed to create a short masterpiece that genuinely has it all: great pacing, a flawless soundtrack, and beautiful women alone in a house.
From the beginning we kind of know what’s going to happen; no good can ever come from a creepy clown in an old Jack-In-The-Box. This leaves only one thing that could possibly scare us: the soundtrack. Since Hitchcock’s famous shower scene from his iconic work, Psycho, we have expected impeccable soundtracks accompanying our favorite horror flicks. And it’s not just the subtle sound effects that Everhart puts in that make this film work, but it’s the ones he doesn’t.
On top of everything else, the cinematography is fantastic. To start, Everhart shot the film using the Red One MX camera, so from the get go, you know it has the potential to look beautiful (sadly, Vimeo can’t support its true resolution). Aside from the camera work, the lighting really sets this piece apart from so many other horror films. The decision to keep everything well light throughout the film really helps to build up anticipation. Knowing that you’re not just missing something cause the room is dark makes everything so much more shocking.
To no surprise, Slash-In-The-Box, has spent the last few months on the festival circuit picking up some fantastic critical acclaim. If you enjoyed this short and would like to see more of Everhart’s page, check out his website. Enjoy!
