GALE: STAY AWAY FROM OZ: Short Film Review By Matt Boiselle

Starring: Chloe Crump, Clara Emanuel, Denny Hodge

Directed by: Daniel Alexander

What is it with horror films in this unsteady year of 2023? They seem content to wrest the happy, fluffy childhood memories of fairy tales and kid’s programming from the arms of the little ones, then contort it into some MASSIVELY nightmarish products that’ll surely have a team of trauma-therapists at the ready. Today’s creepier-than-creepy short film is titled GALE: STAY AWAY FROM OZ…and after watching this one, I’d be the first in line to heed that warning.

Directed by Daniel Alexander, this quickie tells the tale of Emily Gale (Crump), who isn’t fully up to speed on the past adventures of her now nursing-home entrenched grandmother, Dorothy (we all remember HER, don’t we)? Emily’s managed to stumble across her grammy’s rather interesting notations in a journal, and combined with the psyche-rattling night-terrors she’s been experiencing, it’s time to look for some assistance outside her own shrink (Laura Kay Bailey). Sounds like a road trip to Grandma’s place is on tap…and it appears that the dark side of the yellow-brick road is going to rear its ugly head very soon. The visit with Dorothy doesn’t exactly go as planned, with the incessant heel-clicking and the banshee-like rants of “STAY AWAY FROM OZ”! ringing through our ears (pretty chilling stuff here).

After the visit concludes, Emily is now forced to face the evil side of OZ that supposedly treated her grandmother so magnificently, but definitively has had a dark impression on her golden years. I’m telling you that if you loved the Frank L. Baum story (and subsequent motion-picture) when you were young, this short film will turn you on your skull in a short stretch of time. Beautifully shot, fantastic performances and some seriously unsettling imagery make GALE a surefire hit for this fella – make sure to hunt this one down – it’s currently on the CHILLING app, so put on your ruby slippers and skip your way down the bricks…but don’t blame me if you never want to visit this make-believe land ever again.

Author

Matt Boiselle

At the tender age of 6, Matt was indoctrinated into the horror genre by his mother, who asked him to sit down and watch "The Exorcist" with her - ever since then, it's been a blood-soaked, neon-lit, fever dream of an existence. "You don't make horror...horror makes you."

(Can't remember who came up with this quote, but he was probably off-kilter like I am).