The fantastic thing about a horror short film is that it strips away all of that bulky flesh – the slick story that’s trying to trick or impress, the characterization of the spooked individuals or haunted location, the exorbitant settings and special effects that might distract as much as impress; a short instead simply returning to the very primordial aspects of what scares us as human beings – a most basic idea that creakily lurks in the shadowy recesses of our minds. This 2025 four minute and three second feature, Dark Water, written and directed by Ethan Hunt (no, not Tom Cruise’s super spy), does just that.
Starting with a most basic premise: a young woman (Amelie Melsness) helps a friend with a seemingly simple and rather menial task – open a jar of murky water no later than 10 P.M., make sure there are no witnesses. . . and wait until the water goes crystal clear. That’s it! One thing’s for sure, the girl named Alyssa who asks for this by way of text has a great friend.
Deciding to do it in a darkly lit and eerily quiet boulevard in what looks to be a college campus, our unnamed protagonist follows all of the steps laid out in front of her. . . but every time she does, a shadowy figure appears somewhere off in the distance. Might it simply be unlucky happenstance, or could it be something much more ominous?
Utilizing effective shadow and light, the camera work provides us with a nervy look over her shoulder, or into the dim walkway off in the distance. Utilizing every second to build the tension, the atmosphere is only further heightened by the simple yet effective sound design of the water-filled jar. Knowing nothing of what lies beneath the surface of the water. . . or the ominous dark figure that seemingly appears every time the container is twisted open, it all leads to a tense finale that leaves our heads reeling for any number of possible answers.
Dark Water opens the lid on a scary premise that is sure to impress. Featuring a solid performance from Melsness, quality direction from Hunt (which includes spectacularly simple visuals and stellar sound design), and a build that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, it is a worthy four minutes of your time this October. So, take a sip of what this horror short is serving, just don’t cause a leak.
This short can be found on Youtube be searching ‘Dark Water 2025’