A Sinisisters Production, Humbug shows what happens when a holiday-hating woman is converted into a cocoa-drinking caroler with the help of her Christmas-cheerleading neighbor.
If you’re going to be labeling your project as holiday horror, you better be slapping on bows, sprinkling tinsel, and hanging up a lot of ornaments. Running about six minutes, this short is PACKED with Christmas ambiance, so job well done. The set design was A+, and same goes for the sound department. There are so many carols to choose from but the selection that made the cut was perfect.
It was a well written, punchy story. You get just enough setup to understand the antagonist and the protagonist. The events themselves are wonderfully twisted but with a sense of kitschy humor supercharged with Christmas elements. It could have been watered down and stretched a bit further for a longer run time but it was 100% effective in its current slot. Milly Sanders as the do-good neighbor was a sincerely enjoyable performance to watch. She portrayed a woman straight out of Whoville that was disarming, manic, and impossible all at once. There were some editing issues, particularly with the hand cutting scene. It should have been continued onto the next scene to make sense, as there would be a large scar on the hand from it. Some of the dialogue didn’t roll off the tongue as well as it could have and that left those scenes with a moment of silence that was not scripted.
Humbug is amusing and certainly full of holiday spirit. Be sure to add it to your playlist this upcoming month, as it will get you in the mood for the 25th and will make you vigilant in the search for the ‘humbug.’
Haunted by Deadlines 