Vicious
2015 · 13m · Reino Unido
Directed by Oliver Park
Genres: horror, mystery, thriller
Tones: contemplative, dark, tense
Lydia's sister Katie has died in mysterious circumstances; when Lydia comes home late one night she finds her door open, and a series of strange events suggest she is not alone.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A haunted-house setup that feels almost dutiful until you realize the film isn't interested in jump scares or explanations—it's mining grief and paranoia as the same thing, which is genuinely unsettling in a way most horror shorts aren't brave enough to attempt.
Park demonstrates formal control in the pacing and sound design that recalls the restraint of elevated horror; the film knows its lineage (slow-burn dread, ambiguous threat) and executes it with the discipline of someone who understands why those conventions persist.
The decision to keep Lydia's investigation almost mundane—checking locks, listening, moving through the dark—grounds the supernatural unease in a physical, tactile reality that makes the strangeness actually breathe; it's a $0-budget choice that costs nothing except the discipline to stay still.