Pen Pals opens with a quick, clever little special effect moment that sets the tone for the haunting tale to follow.  No wait, no fuss – here’s your haunting in the first five seconds.  A short film (especially one this short) neither has nor wants a lot of time to establish atmosphere or backstory.

The film shows a moment in the life of a young, unnamed woman (Aniqa Mazumder) who has experienced the loss of the person she loves, who communicates with her from beyond the grave. She writes in a notebook, the responses appear, fading in under her writing. Sadly, her use of the notebook to communicate with the dead has opened a gateway in her home. Faster than you can say Paranormal Activity, there is something in the apartment with her – something not visible but definitely present; that is, until it becomes all too visible.

The film and its plot are rather both straightforward and obvious, well executed within the constraints of budget but not breaking much new ground.  It feels a bit like a competent thesis film for a student interested in making horror features and sees this as a calling card to gain funding in the manner of Saw or Smile, and nothing wrong with that.

Pen Pals would benefit from a little nuance and perhaps a stronger sense of the camera.  For its length, however, it is an enjoyable five minutes, effective in its creation of atmosphere if obvious in the working out of the story.

6 out of 10