13 Days of Halloween – Horror Short Review: Unmasked (2020)

A Halloween horror short that utilises the current worldwide pandemic situation to craft a clever horror story. Unmasked comes from Honest Conman Productions and deals with online dating during the time when meeting strangers is pretty much off the cards.

If you do decide to try and date, just make sure to follow public health guidelines. Something Sawyer isn’t very good at as, in preparation for a second date, has gone to the store and not put a mask on. Something he shows by sending his date, Amanda a picture of himself in the store leaving her a bit uncomfortable.

The next day the dating couple meet at her home but are being watched from afar by a mysterious person. Inside, Sawyer continues to prove to be her ‘dream’ man by making her dinner which involves microwaving a burrito and putting a ketchup love heart on the plate. So sweet.

The pair discuss art at the table and Amanda talks about wanting to go to Europe to get more but laments the current restrictions. It’s when she remarks that the people who refuse to wear masks are just making things worse, that thinks get tetchy between the pair.

As you have no doubt worked out, Sawyer isn’t so pro-mask and thinks they should just ignore the virus and get on with their lives. Amanda is less keen and once again goes on the offensive about anti-maskers. Sawyer changes the subject, remembering that he left desert and wine in the car. The pair go out together, he to get the wine opener in the front seat and her to get the cake in the boot.

It’s while looking in his boot that Amanda makes the most shocking of discoveries. The sort of thing to send shivers down many a spine. Is it tape? Rope? An axe? No… it’s a red MAGA hat!

Back inside, Amanda is less than friendly towards Sawyer now and decides to grill him about not wearing a mask in the picture he sent her. Revealing his true colours, Sawyer slams his glass down and in a matter of fact way says he never wears a mask.

This is America and I don’t want too!

He gets up to leave and the pair continue to fight about the reasons for and against wearing masks. It’s pretty damn hilarious as they both act like bullies and caricatures of what you might expect from such a situation.

It’s all about to get a bit more horrible though as Sawyer’s declaration that no-one will ever force him to wear a mask sees the lights flicker off. Someone is here to make sure he eats those words.

If you want to know what happens next, check it out yourself below.

On the one hand, the concept is great and it’s fun to see filmmakers making using of the current times to create fun and silly horror content. However, it’s not exactly what you’d call brilliant. The acting is pretty bad which goes hand in hand with the low-budget homestyle feel of the short. It also feels too long, where this sort of content would be better served in 5 minutes max.

Still, it might convince the odd anti-masker to put one on!