The American short film Paracosm was the sixth entry in the Horror-Rama Film Festival. It starts with s woman smoking in a red dress. She approaches a house to ring the doorbell and woman in a face mask answers. A florescent green glowing liquid in a pill capsule is exchanged for money. Back inside, the girl swallows the mysterious item and she hallucinates.

Director Adam Van Dyke’s innovative filmmaking techniques separate this one from the pack. The impressive use of coloured lights effectively captures a dream like state. It’s has good CGI but its not too reliant on it either. The camera movements also add to that feeling but it not jarring or overwhelmingly disorienting.

Its cleverly written to subvert expectations but the ambiguous ending raises more questions than it answers. Given the runtime it does play out as an interesting supernatural flick to solve this mystery it sets the stage for.

The score is fun with a mix of electronic sounds giving a creepy sense of dread with a psychedelic twist.

Overall, not only did I find this enjoyable but this was a crowd pleaser. This was the first short film to invoke a positive response from the audience who cheered, whistled, and applauded when it was over. The directing, writing, and visual effects make this a highlight of the Horror-Rama Film Festival. Its a film that’s hard to explain but once you see it you’ll be spellbound like I was so I highly recommend this. And remember, for a short film oozing with personality, look no further than this.

Grade 9/10