Sure, you may not have a lot of money right now to make your short, but sometimes a little ingenuity is all it takes to elevate a story above its production values. Though I can’t tell you what this means in this review, you’ll see it in James Dubbeldam’s horror short, Before I Call You Mother.
Samantha (Megan Castle) and Steve (Steve Froehlich) are spending a casual day at the beach. Samantha is enjoying the sun, and Steve is cracking rocks, hoping to find a rare fossil.
“…difficulties they’ve had conceiving a child, like Sam’s recent pregnancy test that came up negative again.”
On the drive home, the couple is discussing the difficulties they’ve had conceiving a child, like Sam’s recent pregnancy test that came up negative again. Steve assures his beloved that it will happen soon enough. Just as Steve is about to hold Samanthat’s hand, he sees a woman (Nathalie Soto Cuzin) in his backseat, but no one’s there. When they get home, Steve senses a ghostly presence.
What I love about Before I Call You Mother is the ending…which I can’t spoil. If I were to guess, filmmaker James Dubbeldam took a special moment in his or a good friend’s life and decided to build an entire horror film around it. The sheer moxie alone gives Dubbledam an extra point on the scale. Just a guess…
Running at a brisk seven minutes, Dubbeldam doesn’t feel the need to pad his story or draw things out. He weaves a lovely, ominous tale leading to the button at the end. My only suggestion for his next film is to try to push those horror elements further. The camera is a powerful weapon in horror, and shot composition and lighting can elevate terror without additional strain on the budget or lack thereof.