Dysmorphic
2024 · 25m · USA
Directed by Grant Swanson
Genres: horror
A lonely young man with body dysmorphia who believes he's too ugly to date receives a supernatural vision offering a path to win over the girl of his dreams, leading him to strike a deal with a demonic entity with disturbing consequences.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Body dysmorphia as a literal demon deal — twenty-five minutes of horror predicated on a metaphor everyone will telegraph from frame one. Sympathetic backstory, suspect length.
Swanson externalizes his own body dysmorphia into a Faustian horror conceit that risks the same territory as countless lesser indie shorts. The autobiographical root and YouTube age-gate suggest genuine commitment, but the comparisons reach further than the premise.
25-minute horror is a long sit for a deal-with-demon premise, and the page is just an age-gate so I can't verify execution — Swanson's autobiographical entry point is the strongest signal, but body-dysmorphia-as-demon is a metaphor that's been done. 52K views on SOTW suggests it lands; I'd want to see it before fully committing.
Reviews
Swanson's engrossing storytelling allows the camera to linger on the more upsetting aspects of his character's mental illness, with Austin Ford delivering an altogether unforgettable performance.
A very well made short with The Substance vibes to it — an atmospheric and dark film tackling mental health, loneliness, and jealousy.
Festivals
- Fantasia International Film Festival 2024
- LA Shorts International Film Festival
- Bizarroland Film Festival, Mink Stole Award
- South African Horrorfest
- Wasteland Film Festival