It’s hard enough to produce a decent anthology horror film, but director Brent Sims composes a trio of horror tales with a fourteen minute window. You wouldn’t think it were possible since a lot of anthology movies get ninety minutes and botch it big time (ahem—“Tales from the Hood”), but director Brent Sims’ horror anthology short isn’t just a success, it’s an impressive horror film altogether. Filled with imagination, excellent plot twists, and incredible special effects, “Grave Shivers” is a dark horror comedy that delights in offering audiences the unexpected.
“Teddymare” is too damn good for a short format. Taking place at night as a dad tucks his daughter in with her teddy bear, he reads a book about an army of teddy bears that battle monsters in a storybook. After leaving her to sleep and heading off to his devices, a horrific monster arises from the darkness of her closet ready to consume her life force. Much to Dad’s shock, he hears the screams of the girl, and is in awe at the unlikely protector his daughter has acquired. This short is filled with enough exposition to sell the big surprise ending, while the effects are flawless. I wanted more of this story. “Shhh! You’ll Wake the Dead” is a classic tale of comeuppance, as a child rapist and murderer begins scoping out a group of girl scouts hanging around a school yard.
After being sold a box of cookies by their troop leader, he is rendered unconscious and awakens to discover what it’s like to be preyed on, and by an even more sinister evil than he ever imagined. “Teething Tiffany” is a demented and gory finisher with the same set up as “Teddymare” with none of the whimsy. Howard Hall plays a father reading his daughter (played by Kassidy Hall) Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” to ease her in to sleep. After a lengthy read, she asks him to look for monsters under her bed, and what he discovers is quite the shock for both the father and daughter. Sims bookends his movie a surprising and rather creepy tale, and what could have easily been a missed opportunity transforms in to an admirable and ambitious experiment. “Grave Shivers” is a short but sweet horror anthology filled with originality, creeps, and the Halloween spirit.