NEVER EVER AFTER (Mariano Baino, 2004) ***

This is a modern fairy-tale, not too far removed from the world of Tim Burton. While Baino's feature, DARK WATERS (1994), had revealed an interest in esoteric subjects and medieval settings, the three accompanying shorts on its No Shame 2-Disc LE demonstrate an equal affinity for creating suburban nightmares with a definite satirical tone.

Though more accomplished than his earlier cruder examples, it's also clearly a step-down from the narrative denseness of DARK WATERS  since this is basically a one-joke film and, at 13 minutes, the shortest title in the set! Being a cautionary tale about women's obsession with their physical appearance, resulting in a less than ideal fate for its likable leading lady, it's interesting that the two mad doctors here  amusingly called Dr. Frank and Dr. Stein (Baino must have watched Hammer's THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN [1958] at some point)  are also female; both of them, then, sport an outrageous coiffure and ham it up incessantly throughout! 

It's all very stylized, undeniably amusing, and even includes its own "Making Of" featurette on the disc (which I did not have time to watch yet); however, one hopes that Baino can come up with a subject for a feature-length film that would adequately follow up his striking first effort...

The horror genre features stories that aim to elicit fear, suspense, and a sense of dread in its audience. Horror stories often explore themes related to the unknown, the supernatural, and the macabre, and they frequently evoke strong emotional reactions such as anxiety, terror, and unease.

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

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Never Ever After

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