Screamfest 2023 Sam & Kiki Review- Slick Short is Everything A Horror Comedy Should Be

Sometimes, horror shorts lack the intensity of their full-length brethren. Without the time spent developing characters and exploring worlds, it can be hard to care about what happens. There are exceptions, of course. The profoundly personal The Chair and Curve and the wildly scary and simple The Other Side Of The Box make magic out of next to nothing. Sam & Kiki, written and directed by Mark Manson, takes a different approach. It builds upon inherently creepy urban legends and adds a liberal dose of hilarity. The results are a successful mix of humor and fear.

Getting its debut at Screamfest 2023, Sam & Kiki is billed as based on a true story. Manson first heard the story about a New Zealand holiday gone wrong from his physical therapist and knew this story needed to be told. How much is ripped from the headlines and how much is blood-soaked fantasy is up for debate, but there is undoubtedly a charm to this cheeky short that leans into the ridiculousness of stories like Boris the Carver.

When two medical school students, Sam & Kiki, accidentally come across his path one night on their way to decompress after a challenging semester, things predictably go awry. The two women are on their way to some much-needed rest and relaxation when tiredness and a late night necessitate they stop at a remote house in the middle of nowhere. The homeowner is overly helpful, and his house is overtly freaky. Unfortunately, it takes the women a minute too long to realize it’s not paranoia when there really is someone out to get you.

Reese Antoinette(Kiki) and Danielle Beckman(Sam) have a nice chemistry that is helped by snappy dialogue that is as goofy as it is believable. Manson smartly subverts expected character stereotypes by making Kiki the calmer, more capable of the two. The tired running gag in horror movies, the Black character is often the first to die, is laughed at in Sam & Kiki. Manson cleverly flips this and allows Kiki to be the heroine. Sam, on the other hand, is all instinct and jokes.

Kiki, in particular, who plays as the straight-woman more times than not, to Sam’s animated sloth, feels natural. She could be you, your friend, or a family member. You instantly like her and feel like you could relate to her. Sam, by contrast, is occasionally selfish, unapologetically herself, and questionable as a med student. Maybe that is the point. You don’t understand how these two fit together, and that incongruousness allows for some of the bigger laughs.

Boris, the too-eager hostel owner, is just odd enough to be offputting without signposting how dangerous he might be. Manson’s short film feels like it could be proof of concept for a full-length feature. These are characters and a story I could live with for a while and laugh with when they make colossally poor decisions.

The cinematography by Rashad Frett frames every shot in horror tropes without being trite or too expected. Focused close-ups of our duo keep the action where it belongs while glimpses of horrors all around are merely hinted at, allowing our imaginations to fill in the details. Sam & Kiki begs to be a fleshed-out story with plenty of meta moments and backstories to explore.

Manson’s Sam & Kiki is deceptive in its power to entertain. I found myself laughing and rooting for the women despite groaning at many of their decisions and Sam’s lines. She’s a cartoon in a horror movie, and Manson balances the absurd with the scary masterfully. His short premiered at Screamfest 2023 and will be available streaming everywhere soon.