It is an undeniable fact that the Horror genre is able to create some of the best short films to exist. For whatever reason, the ability to create tension and make the heart race is often best done in short form rather than in longer, movie-length films. Such is the case with Other Side of the Box, a perfectly chilling and anxiety ridden short film from ALTER.
Other Side of the Box follows couple Ben and Rachel as they receive a seemingly innocuous gift from Rachel’s ex-boyfriend Shawn. Upon opening the box, however, they discover that not only is what’s inside is nothing short of terrifying, but they can’t look away. It’s an amazingly simple premise that really shouldn’t work, especially given the film’s runtime of only 15 minutes, yet amazingly it does. The film doesn’t give us the time to bond with the characters, but it doesn’t need to. Their sense of urgency and chemistry come through on screen and then makes way for the scares that follow.
Where the film truly shines is in its ability to build tension and anxiety. Opting to use what we cannot see to make build the tension instead of jump scares to then have it release when it’s revealed is terrifying and drove my heart rate through the roof. The box, or rather what’s in the box, is seriously scary and made me want to turn away multiple times while watching. The actor who plays Shawn, Josh Schell also delivers a performance that is just so unnerving while feeling so normal. It’s not over the top, and that’s what makes it chilling. The rest of the acting was fine enough but didn’t blow me away.
By the end of Other Side of the Box, I was feeling such a high level of anxiety that I wanted to turn it off, but much like the main characters, I just couldn’t. It is a shame that the major film awards do not honor horror films the way they should, because I was truly blown away by the scope of what this film was able to accomplish in just 15 minutes. If you like horror, check it out HERE for free on YouTube.
4.5/5
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