Short Shear Terror: Do You See What I See? (2016)

Do You See What I See? (Canada, 2016 Short Film)

Rating: ***

Starring: Caleigh Le Grand, Jorja Cadence, Adam Buller

Invited to her sister Jessica's "ugly sweater" Christmas party for a good time, Sloane finds herself trying to feign cheeriness instead as in reality, she's slowly dying in the inside being surrounded by all of these strangers. Things, however, might be looking up for her when an equally miserable guest begins casually chatting with her and all seems to be heading to a rather decent night.

That is until a bespectacled killer in a balaclava breaks in and silently (and then not so silently) starts to kill off the guests. Who is this killer and why the sudden interest on slaying sweater-donning party goers? That's for Sloane and us to find out!

The awkward is strong in this scene...

For it's credit, Do You See What I See is a decent ride through familiar holiday slasher footings, albeit a short one; it definitely has a festive feel to it through its use of colored lighting and bountiful holiday decors (gift wrapping the house as one character mentioned), but what draws me into this short is the semi-realistic look into the two sisters' relationship, loving the snarky and witty dialogue written for them as it brings out the best and worst from the few main casts.

This being a short, it wasn't too long before the bloody mayhem starts too and it does so in a nicely brooding manner. We literally have no idea who our masked intruder is despite the one shot established early into the film, nor do we have any clear understanding why he decided to break in and starts killing people at first, so his presence immediately comes rather intriguing, even more considering how ridiculous he looks with the glasses. His murders, though not entirely fresh in terms of creativity, also has that small shred of intimidation as it gradually escalates from stalking and stabbing one victim at a time, to full on attacking a crowd and actually slaughtering a fair number of them, an impressive feat for, again, a silly looking killer.

Thankfully, ole coke bottle glasses here is to unlighten it!

The twist in the end is perhaps this film's most recognizable feature. Without spoiling it, let's just say it has a lot of sci-fi and a little bit quasi-religiousness, somehow answering the basic questions yet opening more in turn. It's certainly an odd one and I haven't really seen a lot of slashers doing this kind of reveal, another reason for this short to be such a workable bodycounter.

A holiday slasher dramedy with the right kind of twists and turns, Do You See What I See? is a short well worth checking out if you have the time, especially if you're into holiday mayhem, good old-fashioned slashing and some crazy reveals.

Bodycount:
1 male had his throat cut with a knife
1 male knifed to death
1 female knifed on the gut
1 male had his throat slashed with a knife
1 female knifed on the back
1 male trampled in stampede
1 male knifed to death
1 male knifed on the chest
1 male pushed down the stairs, neck broken
Total: 9