In my opinion, some of the best horror stories ever written have been short fiction. Likewise, some of the best horror films ever created have been shorts. In 1991, Director Paul Berry gave us what some consider to be one of the best animated shorts ever made, “The Sandman”. The film was nominated for an Oscar and, although it lost that competition, it went on to win numerous other prestigious honors. I still can’t believe it lost to “Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase”. BAH!
In an old house, a long time ago, a child is sent to bed late one night. As he crawls into bed in his dark and gloomy room, something is waiting for him. A strange, malevolent creature slowly ascends the stairs and stalks its way down the hall toward his bedroom. Entering the child’s room, the creature prances about until the child at last opens his eyes…and the Sandman takes them.
A masterpiece of stop-motion animation, I first encountered it a while back on the short-lived Mtv series “Cartoon Sushi”. I only ever saw it once, as it seemed no matter how frequently I watched the reruns, they never played it again. A few years later, the Independent Film Channel started its own short-lived series called “Independent Animation”. Some great stuff was featured on that show, including “The Sandman”. Sadly, it would be many, many years before I’d ever see the film again, as I was unable to locate any home video releases of it and once “Independent Animation” got cancelled, I was out of luck.
But now, hurray for the internet!
If the art design rings familiar with any of you, than that’s probably because Paul Berry worked as an animator on films such as “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “James and the Giant Peach” and “Monkeybone” (which was, unfortunately, the last film he worked on before his death). “The Sandman” takes the same gothic, creepy approach to its art design as those other titles, only cranked up to eleven. The film is damn spooky from everything to the sets, to the models, to the music. While Berry only ever worked as an animator for most of his career, this short showed what he could accomplish as a director and it really is a tragedy he died so far before his time, as the man had some incredible talent.
The lighting, provided by Joe Dembinski, is truly phenomenal. Everything is shrouded in such pitch darkness, highlighted with moonlight blue in just the right places. When the Sandman materializes out of the inky blackness, it really does send a shiver down your spine. For a film without dialogue, an impressive score is a must. Colin Towns’ music sounds like something you’d hear from a haunted grandfather clock. The way the score builds up steam at such a furious pace toward the ending really enhances the dread and adrenaline.
The overall story is very simple yet very weird. The Sandman comes across more like a Boogeyman than anything else, playing on all those childhood fears fueled by loud noises down the hall or strange rumblings beneath the bed. It actually reminded me of an old poem my mom told me when I was really little, popularly known as “The Goblins Will Get You if You Don’t Watch Out!” (I believe the proper title is just “Little Orphan Annie”). It’s a simple poem, about monsters doing terrible things to bad children after they’ve gone to bed, but it stuck with me when I was little and “The Sandman” seems to encapsulate its essence pretty perfectly.
“The Sandman” is an amazing short film, on both a visual level and an artistic one. While I don’t know of any DVD releases of the thing, it seemed like the moment You Tube was invented, this film found its way there. So you can find it online without much trouble and it’s certainly worth your time.
Grade: A (as in “And all this time I thought the moon was just an empty lifeless rock”.)
In an old house, a long time ago, a child is sent to bed late one night. As he crawls into bed in his dark and gloomy room, something is waiting for him. A strange, malevolent creature slowly ascends the stairs and stalks its way down the hall toward his bedroom. Entering the child’s room, the creature prances about until the child at last opens his eyes…and the Sandman takes them.
A masterpiece of stop-motion animation, I first encountered it a while back on the short-lived Mtv series “Cartoon Sushi”. I only ever saw it once, as it seemed no matter how frequently I watched the reruns, they never played it again. A few years later, the Independent Film Channel started its own short-lived series called “Independent Animation”. Some great stuff was featured on that show, including “The Sandman”. Sadly, it would be many, many years before I’d ever see the film again, as I was unable to locate any home video releases of it and once “Independent Animation” got cancelled, I was out of luck.
But now, hurray for the internet!
If the art design rings familiar with any of you, than that’s probably because Paul Berry worked as an animator on films such as “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “James and the Giant Peach” and “Monkeybone” (which was, unfortunately, the last film he worked on before his death). “The Sandman” takes the same gothic, creepy approach to its art design as those other titles, only cranked up to eleven. The film is damn spooky from everything to the sets, to the models, to the music. While Berry only ever worked as an animator for most of his career, this short showed what he could accomplish as a director and it really is a tragedy he died so far before his time, as the man had some incredible talent.
The lighting, provided by Joe Dembinski, is truly phenomenal. Everything is shrouded in such pitch darkness, highlighted with moonlight blue in just the right places. When the Sandman materializes out of the inky blackness, it really does send a shiver down your spine. For a film without dialogue, an impressive score is a must. Colin Towns’ music sounds like something you’d hear from a haunted grandfather clock. The way the score builds up steam at such a furious pace toward the ending really enhances the dread and adrenaline.
The overall story is very simple yet very weird. The Sandman comes across more like a Boogeyman than anything else, playing on all those childhood fears fueled by loud noises down the hall or strange rumblings beneath the bed. It actually reminded me of an old poem my mom told me when I was really little, popularly known as “The Goblins Will Get You if You Don’t Watch Out!” (I believe the proper title is just “Little Orphan Annie”). It’s a simple poem, about monsters doing terrible things to bad children after they’ve gone to bed, but it stuck with me when I was little and “The Sandman” seems to encapsulate its essence pretty perfectly.
“The Sandman” is an amazing short film, on both a visual level and an artistic one. While I don’t know of any DVD releases of the thing, it seemed like the moment You Tube was invented, this film found its way there. So you can find it online without much trouble and it’s certainly worth your time.
Grade: A (as in “And all this time I thought the moon was just an empty lifeless rock”.)
1 comments:
Wow, thanks for freaking me the hell out! That was amazing, I especially loved how the sandman was closing doors and creaking steps on purpose, y'know, just to be even more creepy. ^_^
Post a Comment