I love it when horror delves deep into human fears. In Joshua Morgan’s short film, Blake Buried a Body, Blake (Mackenzie Prince) and his brother Charlie (Asher Colton Spence) are hanging out on a nearby bridge over the river. Blake, imitating his father, smokes and throws large boulders off the bridge. Unimpressed by Blake’s bravado, Charlie notices a kayaker floating down the river and impulsively drops a boulder on them, killing the kayaker. When Blake confronts Charlie about his actions, Charlie runs away, leaving Blake to deal with the body.
“…Blake confronts Charlie about his actions…”
A sign that filmmaker Joshua Morgan is serious about the art of filmmaking is his willingness to push his storytelling as far as he can. Blake Buried a Body is a low-budget indie film, probably shot with a cell phone, and quite effective. Morgan masterfully sets up the relationship dynamic of siblings Blake and Charlie and then adds the frustrated and disappointed grandmother, who knows Blake will be just like his father. After the tragic event, all hell breaks loose through a surreal dream that may just be reality.
With a killer sound design and some cool but cheap prosthetics, director Morgan successfully combines horror and psychological terror to create a simple tale of terror. Blake Buried a Body proves that you don’t need a big budget to craft a chilling, thought-provoking horror story. Joshua Morgan’s strong character development transforms a simple premise of guilt, family trauma, and morality into a haunting little gem.
"…a haunting little gem."
