AFRAID | Short Film (AWARD-WINNING)

WINNER OF BEST FILM AT THE 2020 UNDER FIVE MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL.
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A coffee shop manager closes up for the night and heads to her car in a nearby parking garage. Will she make it? Or will her worst fears become reality?

CAST
Lead Actress | Ashley Mellinger
Hooded Figure | Seth Bortner
Group of Guys | Ben Enck, Lee Atkins, Andrew Porter, Zach Miller

CREW
Directors | Lisbet Byler & Grace Wagner
Writers | Lisbet Byler & Grace Wagner
Producers | Lisbet Byler & Grace Wagner
Executive Producer | Derek Dienner
Director of Photography | Steve Buckwalter
Assistant Camera | Sebastian Nieves
Boom Operator | Ben Bodnar
Editor & Sound Designer | Aaron Dienner
Assistant Editor | Jordan Graff
VFX | Allen Clements
Make-up Artist | Kayla Fetterolf
Production Assistant | Jacque Byler
Behind the Scenes Photographer | Sam Interrante
Accountant | Ashley Dienner

[ames_virosa]

The details are very nice and accurate. Her Headphones aren’t plugged in because she wants people to think she listens to music but she also wants to hear every little sound in case someone is following her. As a teen girl this is definitely something I have done while walking the street at night.

[jjlfc]

It’s seems like every horror short on YouTube has ‘won an award’ lmao either the bar is shockingly low or it’s cap

[sebthes]

As soon as you see the car you know how it is going to end.

[alienencore]

Congrats on your purchase of the scary sound effects package.

[Rastaanparta]

What is the most effective jump scare? The one that doesn't happen.

[monro]

Well shot and edited and achieved a continuous escalating atmophere of fear and menace. The ending was a formulaic often visited trope and a bit disapppointing. I think it would have been more powerful if she'd just started the car and driven off without incident giving a kind of metaphor for how a lot of women live in a world of fear, vigilance and a constant need to be alert for self preservation.

[MasonG.]

The sound encapsulates not only the viewer but the girl who is afraid. With no dialogue, the sound and atmosphere of her reality is our source to our ears and it really engages the viewer instead of dialogue.

[sharon-ojxr]

*copied from a comment I replied to
what I understand is that initially, she was paranoid. Like when she passed by the group of guys she avoided eye contact and starred at the ground instead. If your a woman then you know that its pretty scary being alone outside at night and having to walk past a group of guys. She bumps into one of them, drops her keys and when she picks it up she allegedly sees a suspicious person in a hoodie and you can tell she's visibly frightened. She fumbles with the self-defense materials on her keys for a second and when she looks back the 'person' is gone. This happens a couple of times as she finally makes it back to her car. She's being paranoid and afraid of all the possibilities of being alone as woman out at night. And when she gets in the car, she thinks she's safe but there actually is some bad person waiting for her in the car.Basically, I think that the creators of the film were trying to shed light on how society always says woman are overreacting and being paranoid over their own safety. But when we finally let our guard down, is when our fears come to light. She wasnt actually being chased or hunted, it was all in her head in the first place but it turned into reality.
if your a woman who lives in dangerous areas then you'll understand these kind of situations and feelings better. I understand why this film won an award. It's a bit cliche but it is the reality we live in as a society.

[bellion]

This is award winning? come on man I expected more

[mewregaurdhissyfit]

Ok, I'm not saying this is a bad short, but I'm very curious as to how many of these shorts get awarded. This is a very watchable short, but it is definitely not worthy of an award.

[BLSSed-Bliss]

Always a trip that whenever one presses *DOOR CLOSE* in an elevator, the doors seem to remain open for _extra_ time.
It's almost as if the elevator has a soul, and an attitude that it does not like to be rushed. 😅
It sucks; I literally think about this every time I press those buttons.

[farizmammadov]

They stole my 3.30 minute from my life.

[chrisgonzalez]

only thing I couldn’t believe is possible is the girl wearing the ear phones at night alone. That’s a red flag, I feel like no one will do that.

[TraderMater]

I am just getting interested in editing video and fell into a YouTube rabbit hole and found short films. This was my first one and it was AWESOME!

[DoreenBellDotan]

It's a very well done film. It makes us start imagining jump scares as the character is. You feel the fear that she's not feeling.

[marssnottheplanet]

This is how I feel whenever I go walking at night

[JDFILM]

Amazing short film the acting and cinematography was awesome also love ur use of sound design to create unnerving tension keep up the amazing work 🎥📽🤟🏻

[TwistVisuals]

Interestingly made film. Especially loved that opening shot! Though it would have been more interesting to have had a more unique/interesting ending!

[CultFortyFive]

absolutely ominous. Love what you did with this.

[pf]

Great pace, music, acting, editing. High quality-thanks! That said, yikes, the ending of the film is frequently seen in various spy/thriller movies so just not unique or singular. Really wish the director/script writer would have thought through a more original ending.