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Film: We Know You Are Home
Year: 2018
Director: Andrew J.D. Robinson
Writer: Andrew J.D. Robinson
Starring: Julie Landriault, Johnny Elston and Ricky Elston
Review:
The writer/director of this short film, Andrew J.D. Robinson, reached out to me before releasing this on YouTube to review it. I had gotten a bit busy, but I had really enjoyed all of the others he had sent me previously so I got to it as soon as I could. This was actually one I had watched a shorter version of and was excited even more when I realized that. To get into this, the official synopsis for the film is Alice (Julie Landriault) hasn’t run out of candy…she’s run out of hiding places.
The shorter version of this film shows Alice as she approaches her car. She finds missing posters of three boys, Johnny, Ricky and Daniel Elston. She then receives a call asking if she can housesit that night which is Halloween. She does agree to do so.
She is visited by trick or treaters, but they don’t speak. They dressed as ghosts under sheets. They do hold up the missing posters and we see the arms are decaying. This freaks out Alice. A message is left for her on a window when she doesn’t answer the door next time the bell rings. When the power goes out, it leads her to the basement.
I’m very glad that Robinson made this longer version of the previous short Trick r’ Treat, because I wanted more from it. This gives exactly what I wanted. There’s a clip that starts this off about what a forgotten room is. I like that, because as the film plays out it makes a lot more sense.
Going along with that though, the three ghosts that she sees are quite creepy. A lot of this is that less is more. We don’t know what they look like underneath, aside from the arms that are rotting. There was a detail there I picked up on and I loved it. I really commend the effects for the film for that. It has such a foreboding sense of dread as we try to figure out what is going on that it really sucked me in.
I think a lot of this should go to the pacing of the film. One thing I like about shorts, especially the ones that come from Robinson, is that everything that isn’t needed is cut out of the film. Each scene we get builds on the tension to the reveal, which for this film I thought was satisfying. Everything still isn’t completely explained, but we do get some answers at the end of this one. I found it quite interesting and horrifying. It also does leave me wanting more.
This short wouldn’t be what it is without the acting of Landriault. I was quite impressed with her. We don’t get much range from her, but what we do get is fear from the beginning. It starts off as questioning why the posters are left for her, but she forgets it almost immediately as the phone call distracts her. The moment she sees the trick or treaters, I saw the terror at everything that is happening and I thought she did great at conveying that. I really hope she continues to act in the genre, because I would like to see more from her. I thought the three boys under the sheets did a solid job and the rest of the cast rounded out what for what they needed.
Something else that really helps this film was the score. I like the use of Night of the Living Dead film and soundtrack to build up to the first scene with the ghosts. From there the score just continues to build the tension for the scenes and I could feel my anxiety rising. That is exactly what I look for from a score. It doesn’t overpower the scene, but fits perfect and enhances it.
Now with that said, this was a great short film from Robinson that I would recommend giving a viewing. It has a simple, yet haunting concept. I thought it was executed very well through the visuals and the editing. The acting really helps to bring it to life, but also the fear of what is happening. There is also a mystery that I thought was good. Score for the film also really helps in building the necessary tension and the effects were also really good. Below will be the link to check out this short. It runs less than 20 minutes so if you have the time, check it out. I thought this was really good
My Rating: 9 out of 10
Link to short film: