Video: It’s Halloween season — the time of year for costumes, lollies, and paying your respects to easily angered ancient gods. Er… well, that last one might only apply to the characters in horror short Root of All Evil — whose careless disregard of tradition earns them a hard lesson in the true meaning of Halloween.
Image: Lockbridge Productions
Considering it was made in just 48 hours as part of Providence’s 48 Hour Film Horror Project — and includes the festival’s customary set of random, required elements (here, a character named Cindy or Craig Tyler who’s a clerk; a $20 note; and the line, “Let’s keep it that way”) — Root of All Evil is pretty impressive. There’s a standout special effect that is simple yet horribly gross. The short won the Best Film prize, but its other accolades included Most Lifelike Severed Body Part… and you will be able to see why. Participants also had to make sure their film fell under the “nature horror” subgenre, and writer, director and composer Alex DiVincenzo definitely takes a creative approach to that theme.