Hulu’s Huluween Film Fest is back this year, highlighting new short films from seven talented filmmakers. The films premiered on Hulu’s YouTube channel on October 1st. One of those shorts featured is Flagged from writer and director Chelsea Lupkin, which follows a woman, Mila (Samantha Bartow), who takes a job as a content moderator for a social media platform. Although she is told that it can be a rough gig, Mila has no idea what is really in store for her. Or why people keep disappearing from the position.
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With a run-time of about seven minutes, Flagged wastes no time getting to the meat of the story. The intensity ramps up quickly as Mila watches user videos that have been flagged for disturbing or inappropriate reasons. Alone. In an office at night. Lupkin effectively used both the social media videos and camera shots within the office to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Although actress Samantha Bartow is not entirely alone in the film, it all primarily rests on her shoulders. She flexes her horror-acting chops with ease.
As with any good short horror film, it is over too soon and leaves us wanting more. This is a premise that could successfully stretch into a feature-length film, although the beauty of a short is that we are left with our imaginations to go wild. And, it absolutely will as soon as the credits begin to roll.
If you would like to check the short film out for yourself, for free, head over to Hulu’s YouTube page. A direct link to Flagged can be found here. It is an excellent way to spend a few minutes of your day this Halloween season.
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