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Midnight Vampire (2024)
The avenging vampire
This is the newest stop-motion short by Takena Nagao, best known by his Chainsaw Maid animation from the year 2007.
Even after all this time, Nagao remains true to his style, with horror-themed claymations featuring adorable yet strong female characters dealing with nightmarish situations in rather gruesome manners.
What initially seemed to be a supernatural tale quickly turns into a story of more mundane (yet, still sinister) horrors, with the titular vampire becoming the antihero who ends saving the day.
As usual, the visuals here are somewhat unpolished, but with an undeniable charm, effectively contrasting the bright, cutesy aesthetic with a plot filled with bloodshed and other macabre elements.
An entertaining horror short, without doubt.
StarStorm (1994)
The failed Saint Seiya live-action American pilot
Another obscure piece of Saint Seiya medias has been found recently: Just like "Guardians of the Cosmos", "StarStorm" was an attempt to adapt the Saint Seiya franchise into something more "marketeable" for American audiences, in a similar way to Power Rangers.
Truth to be told, when young and impressionable, I probably would have watched this. I used to watch a lot of cheesy shows, like Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills (That show was the first thing that crossed my mind while watching this, and I have to wonder if at least some of the stuff developed here wasn't ultimately revamped for that show)
This is pure, unadulterated 90s cheese, from beginning to end. The acting, the lines, the characterization.
Even in a short pilot, Saori/Athena (or at least, her equivalent character) plays here the role of a distressed damsel.
At least the writers got that right.
And the armors, I guess, but I personally think they looked too goofy, showing once again how what works in animation not necessarily can be replicated in a live action format.
And yet here we are, with more and more unnecessary live-action remakes being produced non-stop.
Anyway, this at least looks more entertaining than that movie from the year 2023.
Hellsing Ultimate Abridged: Bullets from Your Valentine (2011)
Well, the characters certainly swear a lot.
And that's basically the only joke this series keeps repeating ad nauseam, swearing, swearing, some raunchy sex reference and then more swearing.
Imagine a version of South Park without the satire, fun characterization or any cleverness, and then you probably will got something like this series.
I don't know what I was thinking by giving another chance to this awful show, but boy, my second impression from Hellsing Ultimate Abridged was just as bad as the first one.
The only part that made chuckle a bit was the scene with Alucard watching Adventure Time on television, but other than that, this was pretty bad.
Hellsing Ultimate Abridged: Psych, Hitler! (2010)
I'm afraid I didn't enjoy this very much
I have to wonder if one has to be a fan of Dragon Ball Z Abridged in order to enjoy this.
I must confess I could never get into that online parody, despite being a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series.
I do admit Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series has its fair share of dated elements (Mostly concerning the pop culture reference overload, particularly during the first episodes), but for some reason younger me could never connect with the works of TeamFourStar.
Anyway, I recently tried to give a chance to Hellsing Abridged and I found it to be horribly unfunny.
Maybe if I was a teen living in the 2010s I would probably loved this. Maybe not, who knows.
Not sure if I should continue watching this, considering how bad this first episode was.
Almofada de Penas (2018)
A nice adaptation
This is a Brazilian stop-motion adaptation of the classic horror tale "The Feather Pillow" by the Uruguayan writer Horacio Quiroga.
Back then in the year 2007, this story has been previously adapted by the Chilean animator Hugo Covarrubias, also as an stop-motion short, but despite their similarities, both works differ considerably in their execution: While Covarrubias' version adhered to the original text with extreme fidelity (To the point of including a constant narration, which in my opinion, became a bit redundant in a couple of scenes), the short by Joseph Specker Nys allows more than a few liberties towards the source material, focusing more in the dark psychological world of the two main characters.
Personally, I enjoyed a lot the gothic aesthetic this animation has, and while there is a notorious change in the way the story concludes, I personally think the nightmarish execution was good enough to justify said modification.
A very promising start for Joseph Specker Nys's filmmaking career, without doubt, showing that even very well known stories can be adapted in a rather creative manner.
The Kid and the Camera (2022)
Effective, despite its predictability
I wish this didn't include the phrase "a horror story" in its title, since it basically make viewers expect a creepy twist from the get-go, diminish a bit its haunting effect.
I also found the very last frame to be a bit cheesy, since the severed feet of the kid are depicted without any blood, looking more like broken toy parts.
Probably it would have been a bit too gruesome to include such kind of content, and I understand this is aiming for a more subtle horror effect, but bloodless severed feet looks just too goofy and kinda ruin the eerie buildup of the previous scenes.
I think the ending would have been more effective with a bit more of ambiguity, but other than that, this was a good horror short, which despite being made with CGI, it does recreate the claymation aesthetic pretty well.
While I'm not very much into the "analog horror" genre, I think this was a decent effort worth a look.
Done in 60 Seconds. With Clay.: Eraserhead (2011)
A pretty good parody
This was the very first Done in 60 Seconds with Clay video I ever watched, back then in the year 2015.
To this very day, I still consider this my favorite episode from that series, and it is also my favorite animation by Lee Hardcastle, being a rather amusing retelling of Eraserhead in just one minute.
I also liked the little reference to the Playstation commercial Lynch once made in early 2000s.
There is also an alternate super8 version which has an eerier vibe which fits perfectly well with the spirit from the original film.
A fun, well done parody which does a perfect balance of comedy and creepiness. Definitely worth-watching.
Lee Hardcastle's Couch Gags: Part I: You're Next (2015)
Just plain messed up
One of the most messed up claymations Lee Hardcastle has ever done, and that's saying something.
Most of his other short films have an over the top feel which gives them a black comedy touch, while this feel downright cruel and sadistic for the mere sake of shock value, with zero humor.
Well, there is an attempt to add a little dark comedy touch at the very end, which honestly feel a little bit incongruent taking in consideration the overall grim tone this animation has.
That said, I actually enjoyed the weirder, more surreal tone the follow-up videos from this series had, particularly the one parodying He-Man.
It's Super Mario! (2013)
A crude, but fun parody
At first I thought this video was unlisted because of the depiction of violence against animals (A bit gorier than usual ouput by Filmcow, even in stuff like Llamas with Hats, which had lots of murders happening off-screen) but it seems the most controversial aspect from this Mario parody is the Asian stereotype included at the end.
While not as hilarious as other videos done by Jason Steele, I do admit this made chuckle a bit.
Sure, edgy Mario parodies were already overdone by the time when this video was released, but this was amusing in a twisted way.
And it is definitely funnier than the unfunny "Mario does drugs" video.
Lolly (2015)
Candy demon hunter
A brief, but imaginative claymation short, featuring an anthropomorphic lollipop confronting a candy demon monster.
While the animation is bit crudely made, I think it adds a certain charm to the small vignette narrated here.
If it wasn't for the plot summary, I wouldn't be able to realize the main character was supposed to be a detective, nor that this story supposedly takes place in a "Victorian candy world", since none of that is shown here.
But that sounds like an interesting premise for an animated film or series, and it would be nice to see more of it.
Considering how much of modern horror is focused in "subverting" cutesy stuff (See Five Nights at Freddy's and all its imitators), the idea of a candy Lovecraftian horrors sounds fun.
Llamas with Hats: Llamas with Hats: Epilogue (2024)
Llamas with Hats: Afterlife
I would have never expected to see a new episode of Llamas with Hats, considering how that series concluded (For those who don't know everyone died at end. And I mean, absolutely everyone.)
Well, there was the Re-Cut for Brand Conscientiousness, but that video was a sarcastic response to Youtube demonetization practices.
I do appreciate the fact Jason Steele chose to give one of his most popular creations a proper definitive closure instead of milking it dry; and surprisingly enough, this unexpected epilogue managed to be a more than decent addition to said finale, following Carl's journey into the afterlife.
As a result, this is far more introspective than the previous episodes, managing to be surprisingly cathartic despite its ambiguity in certain aspects (Is the final scene supposed to be taken literally, or was just something symbolic? Who knows, and in the big scheme of things, it probably doesn't matter too much.)
A very nice farewell to the story of Carl the murderous llama and his friend Paul. Definitely worth-watching.
L'ogre (2017)
Of ogres and men
A pretty bizarre, yet oddly beautiful short film.
Despite the relatively mundane beginning, things eventually get more and more delirious as the titular ogre keeps increasing in size.
The same goes for the animation, which becomes more colorful and expressive once civilization is left behind, turning almost like a surreal painting in motion.
Some of the scenes were pretty outrageous, but were wonderfully depicted.
During the introduction for this short, Laurene Braibant mentions Tex Avery as one of her artistic influences. I personally see a slight resemblance with the 70s animation "Hamm" (Also known as Gobble-Gobble) by Istvan Banyai, in which a man keeps growing in size as he devours everything around him.
However, while "Hamm" was intended as a satirical take on the endless greediness encouraged by capitalism, "The Ogre" is a far more introspective work, which could be seen as allegory of the inner struggle between social expectations and our most primordial instincts, some of which might be far beyond our control, as a way to show how thin is the line that separates civilization from the wild.
Pumper's Paradise (2019)
It's both funny and weird
A bizarre series of gag shorts taking place in a world where every single human (from grannies to little children) is depicted as a hulking mountain of muscles obsessed with weightlifting.
So far, only two episodes have been produced.
The episode taking place at a funeral is the funniest one, in my opinion, mostly due its unexpected conclusion.
While I must confess I found the extremely exaggerated proportions of the characters to be a bit off-putting, it can't be denied such kind of visuals enhace the absurdist comedy angle in a pretty effective manner.
Hope the series continues.
6.5/10.
Stan (2014)
Horns
A little bittersweet stop-motion short, narrating the story of a man ostracized by other people due his horns and tail. However, after going through a lifetime of rejection, a mysterious gift will bring some happiness to the lonely protagonist.
I liked the gentle tone used for narration, which gives a similar vibe to a fairy tale, serving as an allegory of how society tends to mistreat those are deemed different from the norm, and how people often judge other merely based on appearences.
With that in mind, I can understand why there isn't any explanation about why Stan has horns and tail; however, at the same time the plot gives me a certain "incomplete" vibe, ending in a very open-ended (albeit optimistic) manner.
That said, the nice visuals and the likeable lead made this a rather enjoyable watching experience. Kinda wish there was a continuation how things went for Stan and his new friend.
But I guess some things are better left to imagination.
Alzheimer's Research UK: Change the Ending (2023)
When fairy tales met a bitter reality
I must say I'm honestly not very keen on the idea of seeing yet another fairy tale "subversion", since said kind of stories had been overdone to the point where the once subversive elements ended becoming the new norm (Case in point: Princesses no longer beind damsels in distress, witches, dragons and monsters being not really evil just misunderstood and so on)
However, this Alzheimer Research charity promotional short worked much better than I was expecting, being a rather heartbreaking allegory on its depiction of how dementia can affect our loved ones.
The message was effectively delivered and the animation was nicely done. Definitely worth-watching.
Screen Junkies MashUps: Dexter Morgan's Laboratory (2012)
A fun mashup
It's been a long time since I saw Dexter; as far as I can remember, it was a pretty solid thriller series, (Though apparently the later seasons were not particularly great, judging by some online reviews)
This was a entertaining mashup, serving as a fun tribute to both Dexter and Dexter's Laboratory, contrasting the dark psychological elements from the former with the light-hearted cartoonish shenanigans from the latter.
I personally think this parody should have had more episodes. (Hey, if Super Mario Bros. Z and The SpongeBob SquarePants Anime were a thing, then why not this?)
In my opinion, there was enough potential for a full web series here.
If only Screen Junkies had made more of this stuff...
Terrafarmer (2008)
An okay CGI short
After being quite impressed by the suspense Christmas short "Nothing to declare", I decided to check out the previous work of the Scottish animator Will Adams.
That's how I discovered this brief CGI toon, done almost a decade before, much less ambitious in scope and certainly not as technically as impressive, but still reasonable entertaining enough to justify its viewing.
Due its brevity, there isn't much to comment here, serving as just as a little gag with a science-fiction setting, though I do admit the ending made me chuckle a bit.
Not life-changing experience, but worth-watching anyway.
Butterfly Blues (2011)
A fun little addition to the 2011 Thundercats reboot
It's such a shame people refused to give the Thundercats reboot from the year 2011 a proper chance.
Honestly, many fans from the original show were pretty biased, dismissing it just because of the anime aesthetic of the designs (Something frankly absurd in my opinion, since the 80s Thundercats cartoon was already a Japanese-American coproduction.)
While this reboot got a bit more of recognition nowadays (Mostly due the Thundercats Roar fiasco from the year 2020), it seems it's already too late to bring back the series from cancellation, but it was good while it lasted.
I only wish it had a proper conclusion.
Anyway, this brief gag short (which is apparently canon to the 2011 continuity nonetheless) was a charming little homage to some classic cartoon tropes, reminding me a bit to the Animaniacs segment Buttons and Mindy, or the Roger Rabbit shorts.
Without being a masterpiece, it was cute an entertaining, and made me miss the Thundercats reboot.
Unfortunately, it seems people don't know what they have until it's gone.
6.5/10.
The Bat Man of Shanghai (2012)
A cool alternate Batman
I honestly think this miniseries would work better without any dialogue, since most of the spoken lines felt stiff and were honestly a bit cheesy, almost feeling as one of those censored anime dubs from the 90s and early 2000s (Maybe this was intentional, who knows)
But other than that, this was a pretty interesting alternate universe version of Batman with a gorgeous animation style, which kinda makes me wish this setting had been explored a bit more.
Sadly, it seems that there isn't any related material with these DC Nation shorts, which is a shame, because there was a great unexplored potential here.
Nightwing and Robin (2015)
Extremely short, but fun
Boy, this surely was short.
So short there is barely any story here, being basically just one brief deleted scene from Justice League: Throne of Atlantis included as a DVD extra, with a little sequel hook for the movie Batman vs. Robin.
Outside the context of those two movies, it feels as something totally random and almost completely devoid of plot, but still entertaining to watch anyway.
While I have nothing against the art of the most recent DC films, I personally miss a bit the grittier visual style used for the DC animated movies, and it kinda annoys me the constant use of retcons in order to make everything fit into a single timeline instead of just allowing some continuities to be their own thing, leading to that multiverse fiasco from the Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy, which will remain as one of the dumbest decisions ever made by Warner Brothers animation (Though it probably will be undone somewhere in the future, considering the flimsy nature of comic book retcons)
Meal on the Plate (2022)
You are what you eat
A Chinese animated short with vegan/vegetarian undertones, taking place in a small village where people is starting to look like the animals they eat. Once a newcomer arrives to town, the villagers start reconsidering their diet, but things will have a rather unexpected turn.
The message is pretty clear here: Having a vegan diet makes you more human, and while it might sound a bit smug on paper, I think the message is here delivered in a non-condescending manner, even if I don't entirely agree with it. (I personally think an entirely vegan diet is not feasible for all people, particularly children who are growing up and need a varied diet, but I do think some people is unnecesarily agressive towards having alternative foods such as plant-based meat substitutes, and also people rarely talk how eating too much meat after certain age is pretty unhealthy. And yes, the meat lobby often spreads a lot misinformation and has very questionable practices which are often overlooked by mainstream media)
Anyway, this is an okay animation. The art-style is simple, but appealing and the plot is interesting enough, particularly due its unpredictability.
I personally didn't expect this story to have such kind of ending.
The Modifyers (2007)
This should have been a full series
I would never be able to understand what kind of criteria Nickelodeon had at the moment of picking new shows during the 2000s and early 2010s: On one side, they rejected Adventure Time and this, yet they green-lit awful shows like Breadwinners or Fanboy & Chum Chum, not to mention all those horrid live-action sitcoms by Dan Schneider.
Maybe they believed the kids wouldn't be interested in a female-lead cartoon (But they green-lit The Mighty B!)
Wasn't the premise marketeable enough? Or maybe they believed kids would be confused by a show in which the main character was a hero and a villain at the same time? (But they green-lit El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera!)
I personally think this would have been a great series. I personally liked a lot its wacky animation style and setting, which homaging both steampunk fiction and the aeasthetic of 60s cartoons in a way similar to Wander Over Yonder.
Perhaps they were afraid kids wouldn't like a show with a serialized plot (Yet they already had success doing this type of series with Avatar: The Last Airbender and Danny Phantom!)
Nickelodeon had something with great potential here, yet they shelved it, without giving it a chance. And these other shows they accepted to green-lit were massive failures and ruined the reputation of the channel, which nowadays seems just dedicated to keep producing more and more Spongebob spin-offs.
A shame, really.
L'heure de l'ours (2019)
Bear Time
A beautifully haunting tale of innocence and horror, in which the growing resentment of a child towards his stepfather is able to alter reality itself.
I must confess the meaning of certain scenes completely eludes me, particularly on its ambiguous conclusion, where seemingly allegorical characters turn out to be not so imaginary after all.
But even when I didn't fully understand every detail from the story, I still was entirely captivated by its mysterious, almost nightmarish aura from beginning to end, loving each second.
I particularly loved its animation style, at moments reminiscent of chalk drawings in motion, with a great use of minimalism for the character designs (Case in point: The stepfather figure is entirely faceless, yet he still manages to be a pretty expressive) alternated with scenes of great complexity and detail.
One of the best shorts I have seen this year so far, without doubt. Highly recommended.
8.5/10.
Armor del Amor (2018)
Armadillo Love
A CGI gag short parodying nature documentaries.
While the jokes are honestly pretty simple (Such as armadillos using dating apps on cell phones being treated as a mating ritual), I have to admit it made me chuckle a bit.
Truth to be told, the plot just seems an excuse to display some impressive photorealistic animation, being practically flawless from a technical standpoint.
It might not be a life-changing experience, but at least the visuals are nice.
While the video description refers to this short as "a subtle commentary on the frustration of modern love", I think this would work better as a PSA about how armadillos often end roadkilled. Poor little guys.
6.5/10.
Armor del Amor (2018)
Armadillo Love
A CGI gag short parodying nature documentaries.
While the jokes are honestly pretty simple (Such as armadillos using dating apps on cell phones being treated as a mating ritual), I have to admit it made me chuckle a bit.
Truth to be told, the plot just seems an excuse to display some impressive photorealistic animation, being practically flawless from a technical standpoint.
It might not be a life-changing experience, but at least the visuals are nice.
While the video description refers to this short as "a subtle commentary on the frustration of modern love", I think this would work better as a PSA about how armadillos often end roadkilled. Poor little guys.
6.5/10.