By Your Side (2020)
Credits
Written & Directed – James Malcolm.
Produced – Abby Maguire & James Malcolm.
Camera Operation – Abby Maguire.
Director of Photography – James Malcolm
Edited – James Malcolm
Film Description
You can’t outrun your demons, they’re always by your side.
“2020 has been a year filled with uncertainty, anxiety and bags of spare time, which I found to be the perfect catalyst for starting production on my first horror short. This is the first of (hopefully) many horror shorts that my partner and I will be producing together; inspired by the simple things we find truly frightening.” -James Malcolm
Off The Script Films’ Review
James Malcolm dives into the world of horror with his 2020 short film, By Your Side. Horror is personally one of my favorite genres and it was great to see a filmmaker try it out for the first time. Malcolm mentions that this was his first shot at horror; I think it was a great first try. I don’t usually like green tints in film, but the cinematography of this short really set the mood and tone for the storyline. The wide aspect ratio gave it a closed off and suffocating feeling which intensified the anxiety and suspense before the final scare. Perhaps this film relied a little too heavily on that final jumpscare, but as Malcom mentions in his description, this was more of an experiment more than anything. I would love to see what other ideas he can come up with in the future, especially those based on terrifying concepts rather than scary images.
-Katie Youn