The new short film, “Deathly,” written and directed by Mike Williamson, is a quick little slice of a marriage gone wrong, starring Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Speed)and Kathleen Wilhoite.

Richard (Ruck), after attending his wife Dianne’s (Wilhoite) funeral, insists upon spending the night back at his home, where she burned to death in their bed. Upon first glance, he appears unemotional, stunned perhaps by his wife’s untimely death.

Or is he?

As we go further along, Richard doesn’t seem just unemotional, but positively satisfied with his situation. As he calmly makes himself some soup and a nightcap, spooky happening begin around the house. Ashes suddenly appear on the floor, and Dianne’s empty wheelchair keeps moving on its own.

Is Richard being haunted by his dead wife? Is his guilt warping his mind, making him see things? To say much more would spoil this neat little eight minute movie, which plays out like a lost episode of “Tales From The Crypt.”

If you get a chance, seek out this short at a film festival near you. I really liked it, and, even though the ending was somewhat expected and not really a surprise, there were still a few nice startles along the way (along with some fabulous make-up work by Jeff Farley) and the whole thing felt comfortably familiar, like a favorite shoe.

Uncle Mike sez check it out.