South by Southwest (SXSW to the cool kids) isn’t happening this year due to the global spread of coronavirus. A solid reason to cancel a festival, obviously you don’t want anyone to get sick, but it’s a huge bummer to the indie filmmakers and fans who won’t be screening their works at the fest. One such project is Waffle, a horror-comedy short film from director Carlyn Hudson and writers/producers/stars Kerry Barker and Katie Marovitch.
Official Synopsis From the film’s website: “Kerry is at a sleepover with the socially awkward, mysteriously orphaned heiress Katie. Friendship–in a society that grows ever isolating–is explored as Kerry learns the hard way that Katie always gets what she wants“.
“Both of the lead actresses are hilarious, and there are throwaway jokes that had me laughing out loud.”
We wouldn’t want to spoil anything, so my review of Waffle is going to have to stay pretty vague- but I can say it’s an effective horror comedy with some tastefully dystopian elements. As far as horror goes, it’s not going to make you chuck or sleep with the lights on, but it’s definitely uneasy and there are some pretty tense moments. The comedy half of horror-comedy, though, is where Waffle really shines. Both of the lead actresses are hilarious, and there are throwaway jokes that had me laughing out loud. Makes sense, because who’s better at delivering lines than the people who wrote them?
Waffle is a delightful short film, and it’s a damn shame it won’t get to premiere at SXSW. I can imagine it would play great with an audience, and hopefully, the filmmakers will find an outlet for it. If you see that Waffle is coming to a festival near you, I definitely recommend checking it out. Also, if you see a sign that just says “Waffle” you should follow that wherever it takes you. Maybe you’ll catch a horror-comedy short! Maybe you’ll get a waffle! You literally can’t lose!
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