One never knows what to expect of horror shorts, whether they're made for laughs or for scares. It's always a toss-up at best if they're going to be worth the time we take to watch them, and the idea behind this one had me equally curious and skeptical. I'm happy to say, though, that 'The horribly slow murderer with the extremely inefficient weapon' is an unexpected joy.
It's a very simple premise at play here, but writer-director Richard Gale takes it to the utmost extreme. At only 10 minutes long, 'The horribly slow murderer' still feels like it's about 5 minutes longer than it needs to be - and that's exactly the point. This is pure parody, exaggeration for comedic effect, and no stone is left unturned. The short pokes fun at not just slashers, but cerebral psychological horror, bombastic action-thrillers, and more. And the overly excessive length - well, that's half the game!
This must have been so much fun to make. Gale's narration is amusing and entrancing, and the cast on screen is plainly having a blast. That especially goes for Brian Rohan as the ginosaji, the persistent, silent specter wielding the most uncomfortably feeble instrument; and Fay Kato, appearing as a garishly dressed mystic, adorned with fantastically grotesque makeup, and chewing all available scenery in her dialogue. And that's to say nothing of the delightfully absurd scenes that greet our vision, made ever more so by Gale's quick, pointedly curt editing.
The idea that we may some day see a full-length version of this short has me ambivalent, as I can't quite imagine a film of any greater length could have the same effective punch. Still, given the opportunity, I'd definitely watch it. In the meantime, the 10 minutes we get in 'The horribly slow murderer with the extremely inefficient weapon' is just a great, funny treat, well worth the few minutes it takes to watch.
