★★★★★
Directed by: Martin Vrede Nielsen
Written by: Martin Vrede Nielsen
Starring: Thale Myhre, Martin Vrede Nielsen
The title might give away what this short is about. A person is in a seemingly empty house, they start to hear strange noises and it becomes apparent that something evil might be going on.
A young woman (Myhre) is inside a large house, where there is also a baby sleeping in a cradle. Everything seems peaceful. Then she begins hearing bizarre sounds and finds doors and windows that were previously closed, mysteriously open again. The tension and dread rise as the terrified woman proceeds to believe that someone (or something) might have entered the property and is looking to harm them.
This terrifying horror story does a fantastic job in creating a terrifying atmosphere. The protagonist becomes more and more frantic, as the occurrences become more frequent and sinister. She constantly hears the baby crying through the baby monitor, hears noises that indicate a third presence and encounters a bloodied hand and a frightening hooded figure knocking on a window. The film also suggests that it might all be just inside her mind.
There are only a few spoken words and what is mostly heard are the noises, sound effects and the score that was composed by Luigi Ferri. The sound effects are dynamic and realistic and combined with the tense and terrifying music, they help create nail-biting scenes.
The filmmakers make effective use of fast cutting and red-and-black cinematography and by combining them, they develop a scene of chaos, which reveals the devastating emotional state of the woman.
Myhre delivers a terrific performance. She is very convincing as a frightened individual who is been stalked by demonic forces and begins to panic and lose her sanity.
This achievement could be described as a combination between The Strangers (2008) and Jacob's Ladder. It is a roller coaster ride guaranteed to keep viewers at the edge of their seat and give them the chills.
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