Horror Short Review: All Is Calm (2018)

Filmed all in black and white, All Is Calm is a classy and well put together horror short that begins with a woman praying and repeating the words “please pardon my sins”.

When she lifts her head, she focuses on a picture of a cherub-faced angel but when she looks back, the picture has changed and the angel is headless now. A knock on the door knocks her out of her religious trance.

Some time passes and she and a young man are sitting at a table now. There is tension in the air, he acts like he is very uncomfortable and she has a face that looks like she is ready to jump across the table and strangle him.

He finally tells her that he has been seeing something, something he believes is an angel. He says that a version of Silent Night is always playing when he sees this angel, a version that a girl called Hannah loved so much.

He believes that this angel is Hannah, who is his sister and the praying woman’s best friend. If she is shocked by what he says, she doesn’t show it. Nor does she react when he suggests that Hannah is not one of God’s angels. It’s only when he goes into more detail does she begin seem uncomfortable.

Some more time passes and the young man leaves. Later, in bed and asleep, the praying woman is woken by the sound of…you guessed it…Silent Night.

The angel has come to visit and it is not one of God’s angels.

Creepy, uncomfortable and effective. That it was filmed on just an iPhone is admirable and while it does have issues because of that, they’re barely noticeable. Instead, it draws you in with a dark Christmas story that sets out to horrify with good acting and smart story.

Check it out yourself below.