The Mask Maker
The monstrous mask trope (“Goosebumps” The Haunted Mask, “The Twilight Zone” The Masks) gets a modern update with this Crypt TV short by director John William Ross as three “clever” college dudes make it their mission to find the scariest masks they can find to scare (and score) with some girls at a party. Little do they suspect that there’s a “secret area” of their local Spirit Halloween…or what terrors lurk within the mask maker’s workshop.
3 Versos
The only non-Crypt TV short in today’s list is also the only non-English speaking one as well, but that only heightens the fright factor. 3 Versos (3 Verses), by writer/director Antonio Yee, is a Spanish language horror short that finds three young girls hiring a psychic named Margery in hopes of stopping a spirit from haunting their home. Margery, however, is a bit of an odd duck and nothing is quite what it seems…right until the end.
boasts some phenomenal production design
Rise & Scare with Giggles the Clown
A little bit zany and totally insane-y pretty much sums up this series of stop motion animated shorts by John Ikuma (Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole, Robot Chicken). More accurately (perhaps), Giggle the Clown is what I’d imagine a movie starring Harvey Quinn living in Pee-Wee’s Playhouse would be if directed by Tim Burton. Stripes and skulls abound as Giggles “playfully” kicks off her day with he pet cockroach and piercing-loving companion, Puncture. Thanks to Benjamin Hayden for the tip!