The first word that comes to mind when describing Residual from writer/director Damien Kazan is “refined.” This is a classic, straightforward and unironic slasher that abstains from all but the most basic elements of character and world building to challenge itself to stay compelling through little more than the thrill of the chase. There is a supernatural element that acts as a sort of bookend and doesn’t really push the needle in either direction, it’s familiar and doesn’t add much to the overall impact, but it gives it a bit more flavor and doesn’t detract from the experience. Beyond that, this is the classic story of a woman finding a masked killer in her house and getting chased. While this may not win over hardened slasher detractors with its absence of novelty, Residual proves that with film as with food, very few ingredients are needed when you know how to use them.

On both an artistic and technical level, Residual makes a lot of good decisions. Taking place on Halloween night, it has immediate justification to dazzle the eye with an array of neon lights and as it moves to exterior shots of the city there’s some great use of accents and god rays to give each environment its own unique visual flair. The choreography and composition are similarly striking, paying homage to the golden age of slashers without making their inspiration too blatant. The killer, played by Sylvain Robic, is a Jasonesque unrelenting force of nature with a burlap sack tied around his head, similar to the one worn by Jason in Part 2. It does look a bit like one of those Halloween craft fair lollipop ghosts but this primitive quality lends it an uncanny creepiness factor. The complete lack of features outside of its black coal eyes and the crafting of the shot are what ultimately sell the look and make something that could have been on the plain side consistently imposing. Sam Cavalier as the unnamed protagonist doesn’t have much to do outside of running and being terrified and this is something she does perfectly convincingly. She has 2-3 lines of dialog throughout the entirety of the 15 minute short but her physical performance captures the gravity of the situation.

If you’re looking for something that takes the slasher genre in a new direction, Residual isn’t really it. If, however, you’re looking for something that takes what the genre does best and does it in the form of 15 minutes of pure high tension, cat and mouse goodness, this one is highly recommended.