Horror Short Film 'Terrible Things' | ALTER | Online Premiere

Amidst the dead uninhabitable world of the future, the shelter of a forgotten country cottage affords a lone wanderer opportunity to acknowledge the lingering strands of her own humanity.

"Terrible Things" by Ciarán Hickey

#ALTER #horror #shortfilm

Connect with the Filmmaker:

"Terrible Things" Credits:
Starring
CLAIRE J. LOY

Written & Directed by
CIARÁN HICKEY

Producer
CIARÁN HICKEY

Co-Producer
FINBARR CROTTY

Executive Producers (Bear Print Media)
BJORN MAC GIOLLA
FINBARR CROTTY

Director of Photography
JOE VAN VELZEN

Original Score composed by
STEFAN FRENCH

Location Sound/Sound Design
ROB FLYNN

Make-Up Artist
AMY CONWAY

Casting Consultant
BECKY McGUINNESS

Editor/VFX/Colourist
CIARÁN HICKEY

3D Modelling
NIALL BYRNE
CIARÁN HICKEY

Texturing and Animation
SHANE LYNCH
CIARÁN HICKEY

Additional Fog VFX courtesy of
LENS DISTORTIONS LLC.

Insurance
AON INSURANCE

Equipment provided by
FILM EQUIPMENT HIRE IRELAND

Catering
MA’S KITCHEN, RATHANGAN

Stock Imagery
PIXABAY
ADOBE STOCK
SHUTTERSTOCK

Special Thanks
CLEO MURPHY
EILEEN TIMMONS
IAN BURKE
DAIRE SHERWIN
FIACHRA DOYLE
FILM NETWORK IRELAND
AOIFE COFFEY
MUM & DAD

About ALTER:
ALTER is an ever-expanding platform for the most daring storytellers in the world of horror. We are a home, community and launching pad for our filmmakers. Slip into the dark, disturbing corners of cutting-edge horror.



About Gunpowder + Sky:
Creating content that resonates and impacts pop culture conversation, by empowering creators to take risks and experiment relentlessly in the pursuit of novel stories and formats.

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[michaelcallari]

Beautifully shot film. Perfect example of letting the viewer’s mind fill in the details. The dead body on the couch is so much more frightening because you never actually see it in the light. As it sits there in shadow you picture things much worse than any special effects could accomplish. That goes for the story as a whole as well. The post apocalyptic setting and the behemoth at the end. Was it an alien invasion? Yet the actress makes a reference of what “we” did to the world. Is that behemoth somehow the result of human machinations? The movie doesn’t end with the ending. It makes you sit and ponder it. Beautiful piece of work.

[Half_of_The_World]

really wish this could be made into a full movie because now I've seen a glimpse of the creature, I want to see more of what it is, and what it can do

[rosannacellini]

It's kind of sad for this lonely woman, stuck in this apocalyptic type world with a big, quiet enormous creature. You really don't know if it's aggressive or docile, but the woman is ready. This would be good as a full movie. Reminds me of the film, The Mist, by Stephen King.👍

[moonbeam]

Very good effects and acting. I love the subtle storytelling of a world that has died and the few that survive live in a darkness and solitude so great, that they will have conversations with corpses.

[shainaelise]

I loved the dead, quiet moments in this film, and the design of the creature was inspired.

[jopax]

It has a ‘The Mist’ vibe to it but darker and scarier…awesome!

[DeborahPotyok]

This movie needs to be made; So many ppl want to see this story told in full length... Really captivating! 👍👍

[vanessaheslop]

Nothing like a new Alter film to watch as I sip my iced coffee and watch my son play in the yard ❤️ anyone else obsessed with all things horror?!

[darkjesuit]

This is a story worth getting a wider lens if only for its direction and perspective of its wanderer.

[michaellee]

"Tell me what the world was like before it hated us." Wow. That was really, really powerful. Great little film. Bravo!

[hellhoundivx]

That was well done. The storytelling through the environment spoke volumes and the writing was powerful. The bit with kids asking about birds and butterflies, that may as well have been creatures of fantasy at that point, gave me pause and the line "Mammy tell me what the world was like before it hated us" hit hard. Very well done.

[theblackflame]

Enjoyed this, bleak, stark, the woman using her lonely conversation with a corpse for exposition.
Creature reminded me of the Mist.
I like when a line in a story makes me-in my mind-immediately reply to it
"Back before the world hated us"
My thought was we hated he world first, and this is ultimately what the result was.

[ladyseeker]

Loads of "The Mist" feelings! I loved the ending, though I didn't get how she managed to clean up the air inside the house and spend the night without her mask.

[Danksaucey]

The talking to the dead body hits sooo hard. If you know, you know.

[loristevens-oberlin]

Love Alter, love Terrible things! So happy to know there's people like me out there who love horror!!

[matycee]

straight the hell up my alley. Left me begging for more. what else could a writer of a film want? brought up The Mist in my mind. the scale, the locomotion of the gargantuan being. just fantastic pacing/acting. color. A+

[mnirwin]

A great short movie! And kudos to you for having the sense to film most of it in near-darkness and/or mist. When you can't clearly see the creature ... your imagination fills in the details.

[hauntedmushroomsasmr]

I loved it! Very lovecraftian. Like elder gods came and destroyed the world and only a few stragglers are left. Enjoyed it, I also really liked the woman.

[shadagascavich]

This was insanely good. I'd love to see this as a feature length movie.

[observationsfromthefencepo]

Post Apocalyptic films are something I enjoy. They are also a dime a dozen on the internet. This one started out kind of rote. Then it presented it's angle and it worked and by the end I can easily say "This is a really good film."
It starts out with a character wandering around. Many PA films have characters in gas masks and this is fine but can take away from the viewer seeing character emotions. This film addressed that with the lead taking her mask off in a sheltered area.
With a PA film there are monsters. Some are aliens, some straight up monsters, monsters of the human kind or a combination. This gives us a huge and intimidating monster. It has a feel of the monsters from The Mist. I loved how our character armed herself with the axe 🪓 but it might not be enough against that behemoth.
The work was carried by a single actress who was fantastic. This can be a challenge. My favorite part of the film, which is where it distinguished itself, was the conversation she had out loud. It was very poignant and moving.

There must not be a lot of humans left as she lit a fire which could give away location. There is horror in that level of loneliness
I loved the touch of the astronaut toy as it played into the conversation and also the camera work from the wine bottle to the body (chills).

Congratulations to Ciaran, the crew, and actress. Your piece stands out and was a joy to watch.

Peace.