DEVIANT SHORT FILM WEEK: The Daywalt Top 10

Director Drew Daywalt is certainly no stranger around this dark corner of the internet. He's been among the leaders of the horror short film movement for quite some time, as well as a voice for the genre. Today...we've gathered 10 of his short films here that we've deemed mandatory viewing.

 

Mr. Daywalt has actually been super busy working on two of his new features that should be coming out soon...so, we were unable to secure him for a new interview. So, we did the next best thing. We dug through are archives and found a pretty cool interview we did with Mr. Daywalt a couple of years back where our lovely Fangirl Sarah asked some cool questions and he shared some interesting insight on the look of his short films as well as his goals:

Film Deviant: We really like how you've managed to make your short films look really good in terms of quality and special effects and I get excited at the prospect of seeing what you do with a bigger budget. Do you have a bunch of stuff that you can't wait to do...in terms of special effect ideas and scary scenes?

Drew Daywalt: Yeah...one of our goals with our short films is make them look like a feature...but, they just happen to be 5 minutes long...but, they have to be feature-quality...as much as we can get. So, production value is always been really high on my list...it's right after story. I have some things on the horizon that I can't really talk about anything quite yet...but, it promises to be very good...I hope. I'm finally going to have a longer time to tell some stories and with more production value at a feature level...so, I'm really excited about that.

Film Deviant: What is your ultimate goal as a film maker in the genre?

Drew Daywalt: Ummm....keep working! (laughter) I'm not out to redefine the genre...I just wanna tell good stories. It's a genre that's been the red-headed step child of Hollywood for a long time. I just wanna make films that are literate and intelligent...that pull it towards the literature and intelligence of horror. There's some really good dramas and comedies that have been told within the genre.

You can check out the rest of that interview HERE.

 

In keeping with our Deviant Short Film Week, we thought it was absolutely necessary to share with you 10 films that Drew has created that you simply MUST see! It was difficult to choose only 10 because he's got a lot of really good ones...but, we did it...and here we are...

10. THE OLD CHAIR
This one has one of our favorite genre actors...AJ Bowen and some old hags. Amazing what the imagination can come up utilizing an old chair from Craig's List.

 

9. THE EASTER BUNNY IS EATING MY CANDY
We had to include this old gem because it was our introduction to the scary world of Drew Daywalt. It features his wife, Marichelle, daughter, Abigail, and one hungry Easter Bunny.





8. FIVE MINUTES EARLIER
We love this one for its quiet unease. Daywalt utilizes atmosphere and tension to great effect and throws you off just when you think you know what's gonna happen. Also...boy shorts.





7. THE LAUNDROMAT
Speaking of the unexpected...this darkly humorous entry does the old bait and switch. See if you can guess who the dangerous one is.





6. THE CLOSET
I once had an incident where I hid in an ex-girlfriend's closet to try and scare her and ended up witnessing her having sex with another girl. You could imagine my surprise. I think it's safe to say that that incident is WAAAAYY better than what the following girls witness.





5. MOCKINGBIRD
Although Drew wrote and produced this one it is actually directed by his wife, Marichelle. It's one of the creepiest entries on this list and does a nice job of pulling the proverbial rug from under you.






4. CREEP
This one had me constantly searching my backseat before I got into my truck for awhile.





3. SUICIDE GIRL
I love this entry. It creeps me out every time I watch it and, even though I know what's gonna happen, it still manages to strike fear whenever the last 30 seconds roll.






2. THERE'S NO SUCH THING...
This one's every child's worst nightmare! Especially if the fucking mom is in on it!





1. BEDFELLOWS
Ok...I have to admit. This final entry made me drop my goddamn laptop when I first watched it. I was searching Drew's stuff at the time and found this one. Didn't think anything of it. I clicked play and got roped in. Anyway, it scared the fuck out of me and I ended up cracking my laptop screen. So...Drew...if you're reading this....YOU OWE ME A LAPTOP SCREEN!

There are a ton more horror short films over at THE DAYWALT FEAR FACTORY! Good luck sleeping.




Thanks for watching!