Play Me Horror Short Review- The Other Side Of The Box Was Just The Beginning

Anything who saw the deeply unsettling Other Side Of The Box by Caleb J. Phillips knows what quiet horror looks like. He has a flair for making the simplest of concepts bone-chilling. It’s the kind of storytelling that is succinct, never wasteful, and impactful. His horror sticks with you and catches you by surprise with the kind of things you remember. He is back with another short, making the festival circuit produced by Karen Twins Productions, called Play Me.

Play Me is the follow-up to SXSW award winner Other Side Of The Box. Like a soul sister of the latter eerie short, it is cut from the same cosmically strange cloth and with all the same unanswered questions. A young woman wakes up in a car in the middle of nowhere in the dark. She has no idea how she got there or why she is there. She has only a small tape recorder with a note to Play Me to guide her. The message to herself is enigmatic and leaves her more confused than ever. The very bad news in the backseat tells her she is in trouble. The quick ten-minute thrill ride keeps you guessing and manages to flesh out a story that feels larger than the run time.

She is told to find a pen and a hammer and keep the hooded man in the backseat covered. She tells herself not to trust her memory. So many fears are at play here. If you can’t trust your own mind, who can you trust? It becomes glaringly apparent she may be unable to trust anyone.

Phillips inherently understands what really scares us. He’s adept at making something from seemingly nothing. It isn’t cheap tricks or fancy effects; it’s the unknowable, the unthinkable, and the unexplainable. There aren’t any jump scares, very little, if any, blood, and nobody gets chased with a machete, but it isn’t very comforting all the same.

The cinematography by Laura Jansen is intimate and tight. She captures only what is necessary to keep us in the young woman’s head. We are in her space and her mind. We feel her panic because it feels as if we are right there with her. Lindsey Garret, who plays the woman, does not overact, choosing to react with purpose. She is not histrionic or paralyzed by fear. Instead, her believable actions make Play Me much more compelling. Is she losing her mind, or has something terrible invaded our world? You never really know, which is part of this short’s magic. Either, or both, could be true, and that keeps you engaged.

A second-half shift in tone makes a murky situation even murkier. With a Twilight Zone-esque ending that leaves the viewer wondering what happens next, Play Me is as bleak as any full-length feature because instead of being boxed in by possibility, you are overwhelmed by options. Anything could be out there in the night, and the young woman could be our only salvation or our greatest enemy. In any case, her survival looks grim. It’s a clever way to end the short, choosing to give just enough to the viewer without actually telling us anything. To say more would take away from the power of the horror in Phillips’ film.

While Play Me isn’t as creepy as Other Side Of The Box, it preys on the same universal fears we all have. Loss of identity and the inability to trust even ourselves and situations beyond our control are all intrinsic fears. Phillips’ knows how to develop a concept that will haunt you long after the credits roll. Someone needs to give this guy the reigns to a feature film immediately. Phillips’ brand of world-building and fear creation is utterly unique and sorely needed. Play Me is another in hopefully a long list of movies by the talented filmmaker. Pray Me is an official selection for Screamfest 2023.