She Follows successfully uses a deserted Jersey beach town in winter and local folklore to creature an intriguing ghost story. The creators have a knack for taking advantage of what’s around them to bolster a simple premise and establish a spooky atmosphere.

Directed by Gio Randazzo, who co-wrote the script with Miranda Rausch, the film stars Randazzo as Jack, an everyman sort of character who wanders Ocean City, New Jersey during the holiday season. It’s clear he has a lot on this mind, and the full extent of what’s weighing him down is revealed by the short’s conclusion. One cold evening, Jack encounters the ghost Emily (Cynthia Zitter). She’s dressed in all white and moves across yards and the empty boardwalk. Mostly, Emily’s look is kept simple with her flowing white gown and pale skin, and it’s more effective because of that. There are a few close-ups when she’s depicted as a rotting corpse, and the make-up looks great. Her presence rattles Jack to the point he doesn’t want his friends, Joe (Michael Egues) and John (Sam Tankersley), to leave his side.

Anyone who has been to a Jersey beach town in the middle of winter knows how creepy it can feel with desolate streets, a quiet boardwalk, and no tourists in sight. In that regard, the film makes great use of its setting. Ocean City feels like a character, and to their credit, the short’s creators relied on local folklore to enhance the story. Emily is indeed a famous ghost of Ocean City, NJ. She apparently haunts the Flanders Hotel and is the girlfriend of a WWI soldier who never returned home, so her legend goes. Some of her backstory is filled in in the short’s second half.

Overall, She Follows is a chilling ghost story that makes stellar use of its setting and utilizes one of the Jersey Shore’s most famous ghost stories. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Emily in a feature-length film, but this also works well as a short.