In an isolated, 19th century Irish home for unwed mothers, the cold wind howls so wildly at night it sounds like something sinister is lurking in the surrounding forest. As one very pregnant young woman (Alex Essoe from Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass) discovers—“sinister” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
L. Gustavo Cooper’s horror short clocks in at just under six minutes, but it ladles on the atmosphere from the first frame, the stakes couldn’t be any higher, and Essoe is an instantly sympathetic protagonist. The Home also speaks to the power of carefully used darkness and creepy sound effects. Check it out!
The Home, which comes via Alter, is set in Ireland but was filmed in Pasadena, CA, a testament to the film’s use of gloomy, mood-setting special effects. It almost feels like a prologue to a longer story, something that would explore the origin of the “trowies” and whether or not the nuns running the facility—who appear to go unharmed, though that seemingly kindly priest was toast—might be in on their baby-napping frenzy. It sure feels like turning the tables on the creatures is the logical next story beat, but what do you think happens next? Let us know in the comments!
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