A lonely widow (Roxanna Vilk) uses the dark arts to see her deceased husband one last time, and gets a lot more than just a lovely visit with her beloved. BILL is, according to the filmmakers, “a DIY Self Funded short film inspired by the Ghost our two young sons would talk to in the ceiling called ‘Bill’.”. That happy little backstory totally betrays the twisted scares of BILL.

BILL is an incredibly effective and substantial 3 minutes of terror. The intimacy of the setting and atmosphere adds an immense creep-out factor, even as the widow is comforted by visions of her lost love. There’s a heart wrenching quality to BILL that underscores the creeping terror.  Dynamic and distraught Roxanna Vilk runs an entire spectrum of human emotion, walking a delicate tightrope between grief, fear, and romance. Her immense talent drives the soul of BILL to be something much more meaningful than a run of the mill horror short.

The horror twist of BILL is a scare worthy of the horror greats that came before it. A powerfully unique moment is created in the “reveal” moment of this 3-minute adventure, that is bound to go down amongst the horror greats – like Grimsdyke in Tales from the Crypt, a dynamic design meets with a perfectly thrilling story moment to create something I’m certain will be part of horror clip shows and compilations for years to come.

BILL is touted as being shot in a single day, with a small crew. It’s completely self funded – a rarity in the world of easy crowdsourcing – but never for a moment feels like anything less than a big budget Hollywood thriller. BILL should be in everyone’s horror lexicon, as soon as possible. It’s bound to haunt you well past its short run time – and surprise viewers for decades to come.

9/10

 

The Black Gloves
RATING: UR

BILL – Horror Short Film from Sketchbook Pictures on Vimeo.

Runtime: 3 Mins.
Directed By:
Dan Gitsham & Sophie Mair
Written By:
Dan Gitsham & Sophie Mair

About the Author

Makeup Artist, Monster Maker, Educator, Producer, Haunt-lover, and all around Halloween freak. When Miranda isn't watching horror films, she's making them happen. When she's not doing either of those things, she's probably dreaming about them. Or baking cookies.