The new standard for horror entertainment has become the lo-fi, filmed on VCR fodder that had lent something of a realism to even the more outlandish premises. The aesthetic has been used in a lot of facets of horror in the last eight years, including horror movies. The classic ARG aesthetic just works and it works well for the short from skilled animator and concept artist Vivien Forsans entitled “Bedroom People.”
Although the movie primarily animated and filled with stills of various low fi fuzzy shots, it’s still a very creep and weird short. It’s that classic tale about a man who looked in to the darkness and was ultimately sucked up in its throes. Here a man searches through the documents of an unknown USB key and discovers a strange series of recordings. Director Forsans successfully evokes an HP Lovecraftian madness within his horror short creating a lot of interesting terrors that we know little about when it all comes to an end.
The minimalist animation paired with the excellent mood and fascinating mystery makes “Bedroom People” a rabbit hole kind of horror movie that many fans will probably love. I would love an expansion on this concept very soon with a larger format and bigger emphasis on the ambiguity of this world. There’s a ton of potential for absolute horror and I want to see what else is waiting for us.
This year, the 5th edition of Film Maudit 2.0, Highways’ showcase and celebration of outré films, runs Thursday June 12th to Sunday June 16th.