A troubling portrait of parenthood finds young mother Ahtna (Katy Wright-Mead) and her daughter Elsie (Valentina Gordon) overtaken by a malevolent force that hunts the poor girl throughout the night.
Shadow keeps things simple; Ahtna’s shadow gradually takes on a mind of its own and begins pursuing her own daughter. It starts innocently enough, with a game of catch that quickly sours, sending poor Elsie off to hide before the ghastly hunt begins. You’ve likely witnessed a similar scenario in David F. Sandberg’s 2021 short Shadowed, but that’s irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Between a pair of well-matched leads in Wright-Mead and Gordon, this short film gets full marks for creativity and immersion, creating an experience that stands on its own and has valuable mythology if you choose to explore it further. And it doesn’t test your patience either, coming in at only 12 minutes.
The discussion of jump scares or no jump scares is always a heated one. It’s a popcorn flick tactic done to death, but you’ll find none of that nonsense here. Shadow offers pure, unadulterated frights that grip you with its sinister tendrils and force you to watch as it unravels. Writer/director Kamell Allaway and Director of Photography Jonathan Pope choose an objective point of view for their camera, with each moment playing out right in front of the viewer, leaving just the right amount to the viewer’s imagination.
The film is exceptional at pretty much every technical level, period. It’s sumptuously photographed with some of the best black-and-white imagery you’ll ever see. It feels progressive and modern with its lighting techniques, while its framing choices harken back to old Hollywood classics. It has a really clever, inspired blend of styles going for it that mesh well together, especially when combined with stellar production design that transforms the family home into a dreary, hostile environment where every corner and doorway presents danger for Elsie.
Horror shorts just don’t come packaged any more beautifully than this. If you are looking for a truly creepy film that stimulates your senses just as much as it does your artistic sensibilities, Shadow is your ticket to terror.