Rogelio Rios’s found-footage short NightBound traps a man in his own home as supernatural forces close in around him. What begins as a desperate escape becomes an endless nightmare of impossible choices and inescapable horror.
A man (Rogelio Rios) sits at his smartphone, preparing to make an online confession. He’s not crazy. He’s in his home, grabbing what he needs to escape, and while he’s off camera, a box moves, a plastic deck chair levitates and spins, then a mysterious entity appears, only to disappear when he returns. He moves upstairs to the attic, and a pair of shoes sits neatly in his pathway. He knows better than to touch it…it’s a booby trap.
“Every time he gets near the gate leading to the street, he finds himself back at the front door.”
Ready to leave the house, the man finds himself in an endless loop. Every time he gets near the gate leading to the street, he finds himself back at the front door. Cars drive by with no drivers. Exhausted, he tries to sleep, but some force is knocking at his bedroom door, and he hears voices crying for help. What is happening? Are these dreams bleeding into reality? Is something possessing him? Or is the house itself a trap, folding space, erasing any way out?
Rogelio Rios writes, directs, acts, and handles everything else in this one-man found footage horror short, NightBound. It’s DIY all the way, with a few CG effects used for the supernatural imagery. The film essentially recalls The Blair Witch Project‘s DIY aesthetic. I’m going to recommend Rios’ tale for the sheer effort it takes to make a horror short film. At the same time, I’m giving it a six out of ten for a reason. Either way, Rios’ effort makes me want to make a horror short film.
It’s not the greatest ghost story ever told, but it has ghoulish indie spirit, and it’s meant for fans of B-horror films. It’s best to watch NightBound in the darkest room possible and with the sound turned up to eleven.
NightBound can be streamed on YouTube.
"…has ghoulish indie spirit..."
