Short Film Horrors: Vacío (2025)
and A Hand to Hold (2025)
On the festival circuit beginning in late 2025, Vacio (Void), is a 14-minute deadly serious Spanish psychological horror directed by Javier Cano Larumbe. Along with fellow writer Blai Domenech, this story puts a young boy (Tomeu Artigas) in a dark and desolate place as his parents (María Valverde and Javier Beltrán) break up. It will be screening at the Cleveland International Film Festival on, April 10th and 11th. It has been programmed at Vudú Horror Fest, Fantasporto’s Director’s Week, and Alcalá de Henares International Film Festival.
Eschewing the usual one-good-scare-and-a-twist model for many shorts, the direction and cinematography go for tight framing of long dark hallways and dismal rooms. While his parents argue, the apartment becomes more and more broodingly sinister and ominous, with scant lighting to pierce the darkness. Sound and silence are also tightly controlled, with a loud noise waking Félix up as his old cathode ray tube television, left on, still plays a home video of happier times. He follows the sounds of his parents voices while other brief, discordant, sounds increase his fear. Long shots of him looking down those now scary hallways, and closeups of him peering through sliding doors keep his small body alone in the darkness. When the monster comes, it is a glimpse and then silence, except for the video still playing on his television. Festival blurbs peg it as an allegorical horror about social deterioration instead of a more directly menacing monster. Or you can also say it is a glimpse of how monsters take hold out of collateral damage. Given my own childhood experience, I’d go with the collateral damage. Like Félix, I kept my television on too. Vacio has received awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. …
Short Film Horrors: Vacío (2025)
and A Hand to Hold (2025)Read More »