Other Side of the Box film review SXSW

When it comes to short horror films, filmmakers are against the clock to give audiences enough character and story development to make the film memorable while also delivering the scares. Other Side of the Box from writer and director Caleb J. Phillips and co-writer Nick Tag comes through on every level.

Other Side of the Box follows couple Ben (Nick Tag) and Rachel (Teagan Rose), who get a seemingly empty cardboard box from a friend, Shawn (Josh Schell). There is something strange about this box: it seems to have no bottom. Shawn instructed Ben never to take his eyes off the box and apologized for giving it to him before leaving in a hurry. When Ben and Rachel test this, they find an incredibly creepy surprise pop-up, and the horror just escalates from there. I would rather not give away what they are dealing with, as the reveal moment was unexpected and made me say an expletive.

With a 15-minute run-time, we know exactly what we need to know about the dynamics between Ben, Rachel, and Shawn. While the rocky backstory is alluded to, the writers wisely chose not to dwell too much on the drama. It is always impressive when a filmmaker can make audiences care for a character after just a few minutes, and that is what happened, especially with Ben.

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Other Side of the Box may have themes in common with other works (such as Doctor Who’s Weeping Angels), but at the same time, the contents of the box were original and unpredictable. At first, I wished this were a feature film because I wanted to see more, but reflecting, I think a short film format works best because it takes the intensity to the next level and packs a quick yet memorable punch.

Other Side of the Box screened at SXSW Film 2019 during the Midnight Shorts Program on March 9th.

 

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