"Halfway" Horrorfest Entry

Ooh, don't get me wrong, I see why you put up the disclaimer, but to me, it was like I was about to get on an amusement park ride and that whole feeling of 'cheesy cheap thrills' came to mind. Therefore, I prepared myself for the whole cheese factor. So, as I watched, I couldn't help but to think i was in a cheesy haunted house.

It wasn't until I started watching that those feeling went away .... UNTIL... those flashing lights came back on and I was like.. "UT Oh.. I'm back in the haunted house."

Bottom line, is that I enjoyed the film and it struck true to the horror genre. I just feel as though you shouldn't have to 'prepare' someone because automatically, you are setting them up for something that is about to happen and could possibly associate bad feelings (such as mine with dumb ass haunted houses).

forgive me for the saw comment. That seems to be the buzz word of the this fest and I just assumed. :)

I hope that helped? If not, I"ll try and go into it deeper.

cheers,
/j
 
Damn you kholi... The Review King! I'm not able to build upon anything more
than what kholi has already stated. This is easily a top 10 short for me.

I've read you're comments on the room being limbo and I was curious
as to what would happen in the opposite direction of hell. Would one awake in
the same room... in the dark and confused?
 
Edgen said:
I prepared myself for the whole cheese factor. So, as I watched, I couldn't help but to think i was in a cheesy haunted house.

It /j
Click to expand...

I get ya now! Thats cool :-)

I was thinking of turning Halfway into an amsuement park ride actually. you know when you get those sacks on and slide down the spiral? well this would follow those lines, but a bit darker..... :)
 
Inexistence, thankyou for the comment. It's just nice to know people watched it, even if they dont have anything to extra to add. Thanks!

As for the reverse.... well, I didnt get that far...lol I cant say I sat down and though about this forever. The inital idea was to have 2 people in the room, both who had died in a mutal car accident. the idea was that one would go to hell and one to heaven based on their actions in limbo.... but I ditched it and went straight for the horror vibe. I never even thought about the reasonaing after that. In truthfulness I dont know if that room still is limbo as that was part of my inital idea..... but i dont see it as a place in the real world, put it that way.. Im a big fan of resolving issues on one level and leaving them open on the other. The idea was to use the recycle effect to make the audience satisfied and the open question of 'WTF just happened?'

Thinking about it now though I think you'd wake up in a much nicer lit room if you were going to heaven... with maybe a choice of florally decorated sacks. And instead of taps dripping you'd hear the noise of a bubbling spa-pool across the room.
 
Last edited:
darkline,
I just have to say that i was in a lull watching through a lot of the horrorfest entries until i came upon yours, and it ripped me right out of it. Entertaining, polished, well done. congrats.
 
Definitely my pick of the fest. I loved the minimalism and appreciated the control you show over your craft. Where you used effects, they were creative and perfectly achieved. You created tension and took me on a weird, nightmarish, and strangely believable trip. The ending isn't quite there. But so far, I can't say any of the shorts in horrorfest have nailed their endings (Girl Next Door is pretty close). But Halfway gets my top vote. Only a few left to view.

Edit: further to the ending (SPOILER)....a question...the final image of the man in the bag....is that a new victim? an endless cycle? or is it the same guy as we've seen all along. looks like the same guy...but I'm trying to figure out the ending. At least you got me thinking! ;-)
 
Last edited:
Hi Hybrid and Sean

Again all I can say is thanks..... I cant beleive the reaction my film is getting and it really does give me encouragement to continue and keep working on improving the shorts I make.

The guy at the end is someone new (me) in the bag..... yes it a re-cycle ending, I would then open the bag that Mark (the victim) is now in..

actually we are thinking right now of reshooting that last image (as it would be really easy) but with a 10 year old boy instead on the screen. That might give it a bit more gravitas...... but no, currently it's me, and me and mark look very different! but maybe nightvision makes everyone look the same :-)

thanks again sean and Hybrid!!!
 
Last edited:
Cool. Well I read the ending correctly then...but not until the third viewing. I guess it would have hlped me if the guy in the bag at the end (you) looked a lot different. After all, we don't really get a great look at the main guy throughout--he's obscured in strange light, flickering strobes, darkness, and then when we get the final reveal at the end (ie., you) you're covered by tape, so, on my first two viewings, I didn't realize it was a new person. Hey here's an idea. Maybe just before you show that final ending, you need to show a new bag being dragged down the stairs. The cycle starts again. Maybe use a few seconds of another take of the bag being dragged.

I'm surprised YOU'RE surprised by the reaction. You're damn good. Halfway is my fave film of the fest by a healthy margin. Hope you're considering features!
 
Thank's sean. Thats a good point. I think the new shot of the little kid will hopefully provide more of a distinction :-)

Glad you liked it. And yes, Ive been considering features for a long time, but I've still yet to take the plunge and work with proper actors yet, so one step at a time. I keep writing featues that I can make for about £5000, but I never have the guts to go ahead and do them. I think a few more shorts first before I have the confidence to tackle something that large. But I'm a big fan of the first do-it-yourself feature production.
 
Just finished watching... I'm totally impressed. Your lighting was superb, editing was fantastic, and the camera work was great.

I was particulalry impressed with the story. You managed to have a complete short film (credits and all) in under the 6 minutes alotted. Most of the other films I've seen so far have not so complete stories that run exactly 6 minutes without credits.

I also loved your beginning credit sequence. If you don't do this for a living, you should consider it.
 
Last edited:
This looked great and was a lot of fun.
Maybe the scariest of the fest.
Despite the nods some noted imagery from certain films, pretty original too.
In terms of story I liked the cyclical nature of this. I think that works will in a short since it may take less time to show us that something is ongoing rather than rap it up and comment on the resolution in a short time, so I'm glad that this has brought that to my attention.
Again really well shot and pro looking with lots of scare factor and a simple well told story.

Congrats :beer:

Jack.
 
Darkline said:
Ive been considering features for a long time, but I've still yet to take the plunge and work with proper actors yet, so one step at a time.
Click to expand...

I hope you do, I'd love to see it. Do you think it would be a horror movie?
 
Darkline said:
actually we are thinking right now of reshooting that last image (as it would be really easy) but with a 10 year old boy instead on the screen. That might give it a bit more gravitas...... but no, currently it's me, and me and mark look very different! but maybe nightvision makes everyone look the same :-)
Click to expand...

Please do - I totally thought it was the same person (which would be interesting in itself - the dude finds himself in the bag, lets himself out, only to get stuck in the bag again - and would give a different meaning to being stuck halfway - but would make the rest of the movie as is somewhat confusing).

This was very well-produced - looked great, sounded great. Way to throw something together just to suit the locaction you found. The only thing that bothered me was that I wanted some more context from the very start - I felt like I was really searching and struggling to understand what was going on, until it finally all came together at the end. 4 minutes is a long time to sit and wonder...

Overall, very good work.
 
I thought this one was really well done. Very scary, and I really liked the strobe stuff. You also have a neat premise.

A lot of the imagery seemed like it was taken directly from other movies, though, which sort of disappointed me. It was kind of like I was scared because I remembered being scared from those other movies.

Anyways, there are a lot of movies in this fest that are very derivative of The Ring, Saw, and Audition but of all of them I think this one was the best.
 
beautiful movie, the best of the horror fest I think (I've already seen all the shorts)... not just because it's the scariest, but because it's really well done, well directed I mean... there are beautiful frames and there is inside a very interesting topic about (digital) cinema... Great!:beer:
 
Darkline said:
Thank's sean. Thats a good point. I think the new shot of the little kid will hopefully provide more of a distinction :-)
Click to expand...
I was momentarily confused into thinking they were the same person, but assumed they weren't as this is a casting problem I see often in emerging filmmakers who are casting from those around them.

I think its good to avoid this confusion. But why 10 year old kid. Why not just a darkhaired guy or something. I think a 10 year old kid clouds the cyclical nature of this. The first character wasn't a kid, why is the second? Was the 1st character that young when he was 1st tied up here? etc. I think you want someone that's not drastically different but clearly distinguishable from the 1st character or its too much to consider as the audience member when we should just be going "oh ... I get it it" and not being introduced to knew questions, IMHO.
 
Gauranga - that you very much. It's interesting to see how divded people are by the subject. Ive had one or two comments that say the story is great for 6 minutes, and others who say it takes too long or is too vague for a build-up. thanks for the glowing review!

I started from the idea that i didnt want the process explainable. I like horror that has no real resolution, (picnic at hanging rock, even donnie darko) but of course this kind of short totally rejects things like character development in favour of atmosphere or scare. so I expected it to divide opinion. thanks for your support and I'd love to do this for a living!

Jeans, I've written a few ideas and they verge on horror. Nothing like this though. I think as a first film horror is more forgiving. I mean, just look at the crap that makes it to the cinemas with horror.... The audiences go in wanting to have fun, a fri night out. If you make a drama I think its harder to get right and to be honest the standard is higher too.. So I think probably my first feature would be horror/thriller to get a foot in the door, but I dont want to stick to the genre soley.

Lingothree thanks for the feedback, it seems one or two people have thought that was the same person at the end now - or at least had to re-think about it. That wasnt the intention and Im glad it's been point out.

Thanks Luster. Im glad you liked it. I am guilty of fusing different elements together. This is an area I will change next time around. I still dont get the ring reference, but I guess people see a TV with interference and the connection is made. I dont think my imagery is taken directly from other films, the sack release, the door slam, the handheld vibe. But I do see where you're coming from. It's not going to re-define the horror genre :-)

Omar - again all i can say is glad you liked it! its amazing to hear all this feedback, good, bad, or constructive. for you to say it's your pick of the fest really makes me a happy boy!

Jack. thanks very much for the comments. It's nice to have you chime in here as such an accomplished film-maker. The nightvision thing is funny, believe it or not - i look nothing like mark. Im black hair brown eyes with a lot of stubble, Mark is blonde hair and blue eyes, clean shaven. But nightvision seems to get rid/minimize of all these charatceristics, which is why I wanted to go for someone completely different - like a kid.

Another option is to use a girl here. long black hair. I have a friend who said she'd do it (personally I think its a kink thing.... all the gaffer tape and bondage)
 
Sorry I haven't chimed in sooner, there are lots of good ones I'm just getting to for one reason or another.

I think a girl (woman) is better. While different it doesn't come with the baggage of "kid" or "boy" ... "is that him younger" "that's somone else, was he there since he was a boy" etc. and boy seems to be symbolic or something where as I think a woman, perhaps simillarly costumed, would be same **** different day (in a good way) but with a girl, and like I said I think that cyclical aspect a strength
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top