[Editorial] 8 Nature Horror Shorts

There’s nothing quite like the terrifying and implacable force of Mother Nature for instilling a sense of existential dread; the fear inspired by the ancient world around us has a far more primal flavour than, say, a creepy clown or a logging truck.

Our instincts tell us there’s danger in the isolated forest or the lonely mountain, from the environment itself or the things that may lurk within it. Horror cinema has tapped into this fear, with subgenres like eco horror, folk horror and cryptids tapping into the unsettling side of the natural environment. 

Dark Water (2019)

After their mother’s death, siblings Gemini and Eric are sorting out her house and possessions. Gemini discovers a file with her name on it in a wardrobe which reveals a fundamental secret about her past and identity. The shock of this discovery has a physical effect on both her and the house, with a whole floor being transformed into a weird, impossible seascape. The unknowable nature of the ocean here mirrors the equally mysterious aspects of our own family and selves.

Moonstruck (2023)

The natural world doesn’t end at the boundaries of Earth’s atmosphere, and the realm of space has the potential to be even more unsettlingly unknowable than our home planet. In Moonstruck, a woman wakes in the early hours to find her husband missing from bed and a national emergency happening, with people exhibiting strange behaviour caused by looking at the moon. Although the premise comes close to the silly end of the surreal, the film plays it straight, and gets some real chills from the notion of something as inescapable as the moon becoming suddenly malign.

Altitude (2019)

Some areas of the world are distinctly less hospitable than others, but humanity’s long had a somewhat hubristic urge to conquer the mountains, seas and deserts, despite the obvious dangers. Altitude follows a couple on a mountaineering excursion who are suddenly caught in a thick bank of fog. Unable to find the cabin they’re heading for and with their navigation instruments not working, the pair find themselves at the mercy of the environment; and this particular place seems to have something more sinister about it than mere remoteness. 

Wither (2019)

Folk horror has seen a massive resurgence in recent times, with both renewed interest in older works, and new films being made in the genre. Wither is a chillingly effective example of a folk horror exploring what happens when reverence for nature tips over into dangerous fanaticism. It centres on a young girl who we see at school, where the class are presenting berries to the teacher. Her offering comes up short, and later we see the brutal consequences of this seemingly trivial misstep. Even with an extremely short runtime, Wither is memorably eerie folk horror, capturing perfectly the cheerful cruelty of the ritual. 

Blackwood (2018)

One of the stranger sensations when alone out in nature is suddenly becoming aware of sounds that usually go unnoticed. This can sometimes be pleasant – like hearing the buzzing of insects or birdsong generally drowned out by human noisiness – there can be an unnerving feeling that you’re surrounded by teeming life, and that you’re in its territory. In Blackwood this sensation is dialled up, as a sound recordist ventures alone into a forest to record background noise. She finds that there is more than just insects and birds living out in the woods, and after a terrifying encounter, is left with her recordings of what she found – evidence of what can lurk beneath a seemingly peaceful rural scene.

Valerio’s Day Out (2019)

As the saying goes, nature is red in tooth and claw. The horror landscape too is littered with killer creatures – sharks, bears, alligators, spiders, bats, dogs – these and many more have all wreaked havoc on unsuspecting human populations. Valerio’s Day Out is an oddly charming spin on the killer animal subgenre: a combination of spoof news report, nature program and a first-person narrative, told from the perspective of Valerio, a jaguar who escapes his enclosure at a zoo and embarks on a murderous rampage. The world-weary voiceover from Valerio contrasts with the gruesome subject matter, making for a film that emphasizes the sometimes-brutal rules of the natural world to darkly humorous effect.

Tunnel (2021)

Getting lost in the woods is a horror cliché for a reason – there are few environments that can feel as disorienting as a forest when you’ve lost your way. Horror fiction like The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Stephen King’s The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon have put their characters in the panic-inducing situation of going in circles in a seemingly inescapable forest. Tunnel also plays up the confusing geography of the natural world. A lone walker in a large area of wooded parkland comes across a tunnel, the only major landmark in the area. However, he finds that no matter what direction he goes or how far, he comes back to the tunnel. The film does an excellent job of creating a claustrophobic space from open, sunny surroundings, and increases the tension with every repetition of the loop.

Brackish (2021)

Folklore about nature has likely been around as long as humans have, as we’ve woven stories to make sense of the sometimes-incomprehensible landscape around us. Brackish is the story of the “Brackish Undertaker”, a woman cursed to live in the water of a mangrove swamp, until she can find a victim to take her place. The character of the Undertaker entity is an uncanny hybrid of human and non-human, existing underwater but with the possibility of returning to a fully human form. Like many folkloric figures, she blurs the lines between the “civilised” and natural worlds, and questions whether those lines really exist at all.

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