When given a specific set of instructions, it is always best to follow them. . . after all, Ikea furniture can look pretty daunting if you’re missing that annoying Allen key and have to improvise. But, as horrific as the above scenario might sound, of course I’m actually talking about horror movies – specifically, a hair-raising four minute short film called Latch (2017), written and directed by Landon Stahmer.
It all starts off simple enough – here are the instructions: “Hold out the match and say ‘show me the light or leave me in the darkness’. . . If you hear something, turn away, light the match and wait. DON’T LOOK BACK. . . but if you look, you might see something looking back at you”. A somewhat typical game teens might play late into the night during a sleep over, our girl receiving said instructions is Sofia (Sarah Bartholomew), a prototypical ‘I’m not scared of anything’ kind of teen. . . her brother, Daniel (Brandon Johnston), the one seemingly trying to spook her. But we know better, there is no Narnia in the wardrobe she is entering, but rather, she is playing with some sort of folkloric ritual.
Intriguingly enough, that’s about all you need to know before going into this closet along with Sofia. Placed in the expert hands of Stahmer, he makes us wait, each second infused with dreaded anticipation as we bide our time for the payoff. The camera tucked in so very tight on her increasingly frightened visage, every slight camera pan brings with it added suspense, each point of view, overhead, or insert shot a jolt to our own composure, along with Sofia’s.
Utilizing our most primal fears against us (i.e. the darkness, and the things that go bump in it. . . as well as confined spaces), the simplicity onscreen works wonders, the movement of a hanging shirt or dropped match somehow creating something much more complex and disturbing at the same time.
Featuring stellar sound design on top of the impressive visuals (and let’s not forget the solid performances), Latch pays off in so many ways (several of them unexpected for such a brief runtime). Unexplored themes and ideas flow like an undercurrent just below the chilled surface, so much further to investigate – I for one hope Mr. Stahmer gets the chance to evolve this narrative into a full length feature. So, despite instructions otherwise, please open the closet door and explore this 2017 horror short – it is most definitely worth latching onto.