Writer-Director Mark Howell’s short is one of the finest examples of short horror cinema I’ve seen in a while. He wastes no time in explaining his characters to us, leaves our experience completely ambiguous and also leaves me wanting a sequel. When a young couple happen upon a house being sold in a seemingly mundane neighborhood, they decide to buy it under the house’s value and are talked in to the purchase by a content realtor who seems to know the house’s ins and outs as the new buyers prepare to move.
“Upstairs” has all the elements to make for a pure horror film and Howell leaves the unveiling of the mystery intruder of the house left for us to decide what’s going on and why. “Upstairs” is an atmospheric bit of pure terror that could definitely benefit from a feature length film that focuses on why the house’s secret resident has taken up living there for so long and what its intentions are. Also, has the realtor been using her as a con device for years or does he just think she’s enough to warrant a symbiosis to suck home buyers dry of their finances.
Thankfully though there are many questions I’d love to see answered, it doesn’t suffer the film nor does it make the eventual surprise unveiling any more effective or terrifying. “Upstairs” manages to supply a decent sized punch in the gut horror wise and Howell does a great job in relying on old fashioned devices to gauge audience reaction and keep the images we’ve seen burned in to our brains for days. For a short film effort it’s a great look at what a horror film can be on a small budget and some skill. Taking the ghost genre by the balls, Mark Howell’s ambiguous, atmospheric and traditional haunted house flick is a real kick in the gut with good performances, great direction, and images you won’t soon be forgetting.