11PM may not be known as the “witching hour,” but there’s something mysterious about it all the same. 11PM seems to be the hour that most adults go to sleep. It also seems to be, according to missing persons data, the hour that is filled with the most mysterious disappearances.

Operating in real time, 11PM is just under a half hour of atmospheric horror. In the first seconds of blackness on screen, we the viewer are encouraged to watch this in the darkest environment possible – and I’m so thankful I took the time to turn off all of my lights. This film is entirely in black and white, largely comprised of grainy video grain super close ups or super wide shots – and very little in between. I am thankful, too, that I watched with headphones – because the impeccably mixed sound design added so much to the scare factor of this slow, creeping terror.

Somewhere between found footage and documentary, 11PM is thrillingly subtle, and doesn’t force anything on the audience. I am always in awe of a good horror – particularly a good short – that doesn’t rely on overt exposition to make a point. It’s so hard for even the big budget, big script films to squeeze in all the information they want to. 11PM does it in 29 minutes, with almost no dialogue, and rarely, if ever, showing you more than an actor’s eyes. There’s no monster reveal, there’s no jump scares. There’s just breathing, and slow movement of shadows, and absolute horror brilliance.

Give it a watch at the link below!

8 Out of 10