Short of the Week: ‘Sea Devil’ by Brett Potter & Dean C. Marcial
She's coming for me...
A terrifying horror film currently unfolds before our very eyes. We’re living in a time of unprecedented fear, confusion, and uncertainty. I fear for everyone’s safety and sanity.
Immigration is obviously a significant issue, and my choosing of this film and last week’s Boniato is definitely not arbitrary. This week’s short film, Sea Devil, is the immigrant story as a hypnotic hellscape, recalling to mind Lucile Hadžihalilović‘s nightmarish debut, Evolution. Both this and last week’s film cast the current state of immigration in the U.S. a dimmer, more grim shade.
The short film is directed by Brett Porter and Dean C. Martial, co-directors who waste no time in dissipating tension. Porter and Martial does so in often a startlingly beautiful manner. The use of Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” is especially haunting, its skittering beats smoothly anchoring the states of mind of those on board the Carrielyn.
Towards the end, the Cuban father-and-daughter alight the boat and tirelessly pedals their way through the shore. Halfway through, an ambiguous-looking creature emerges from the water, its height towering like a wall.
It can only be the one that the film refers to its title—a devil, the.
Watch Sea Devil in full after the jump. It’s a terrific, albeit brisk, horror short film that truly resonates with me. If you have short film recommendations, hit me up on Twitter (@armanddc) or any of the Modern Horrors crew. Check back next week for another horror short!