Horror Short Film Review: VELMA (2022)

 

Plot: On a quest to find true love, Velma encounters only disappointment.

Searching for true love has never been bloodier.

In Velma, we see a woman putting herself out there, trying to find the one man who will love her for who she is.

There are vibrant colors, bouffant hairstyles, lavish food spreads and olives in aspic.

The characters wear chromatic colors and fashion from the 1960s.

Scarlet Moreno gives a nuanced performance while playing the titular character Velma.

Velma isn't seen speaking a single word. The background narration is what moves the story ahead.

The story is told through Velma's expressions as she invites men over for dinner. The first three men are almost faceless in this narrative.

They come into Velma's life, ignite hope of true love, and for some unexplained reason, it is all extinguished and we see Velma sprawled on her bed, disappointed that he wasn't the one.

The rule of three applies here as Velma goes through three men. They come in, have dinner. We see only the bottom half of their faces.

At the end of the evening, and after a dance, Velma leads them to her bedroom.

The next morning Velma is filled with remorse and thinking about how the man she was with didn't turn out to be who she thought he was.

Finally, a new man enters her life. This time we see his face and so he must have some significance to the story.

Velma is smitten with him. They have a pleasant dinner. They connect. Velma thinks he might just be the one.

But as the night progresses, Velma realizes he isn't the one either.

They go to the bathroom to take a bath. The man undresses and gets in with Velma. With deep regret she stabs him. Blood splatters everywhere.

So that is Velma's secret.

When she can't find the man of her dreams, she kills them.

At the end, Velma has still not given up hope, nor her search for true love.

The background score, Moon River, perfectly complements the movie's theme. Just as the song suggests, Velma too has a yearning for love despite knowing that relationships can often turn disastrous.

VELMA is a well-made horror short with a profound meaning and a terrifying secret.

The short film world premiered at Panic Fest in 2022, with screenings and awards at Film Quest (Best Costumes), Underworlds Film Fest (The Banshee Award), Arthouse Film Fest (the Fellini Award for Best Art Direction), Nightmares (Best Cinematography), and Sin City Horror Fest (Best Editing).

Star Cast: Scarlet Moreno and Zach Tinker

Writer: Scarlet Moreno

Director: Scarlet Moreno

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