This might contain a spoiler or two…
I was handed this assignment by El Hefe and I gladly accepted this journey into another unknown horror short. When I saw the title, my mind was flooded with images of a rampaging Care Bear taking out pre-pubescent teenagers with magical powers. Curse my vivid imagination! Alas, it was not to be.
However, I am happy to say that was my only disappointment during the 11 minute duration of Teddy!
Teddy is a short film by Slasher Studios, directed by Steve Goltz and co-written by Kevin Sommerfield. The synopsis is as follows:
“Teddy” tells the story of four college students that get more than they bargained for when a hit-and-run accident turns into murder. Revenge is a dish best served hot with a hatchet in one hand and a teddy bear in the other. Will they “bearly” be able to survive the night?’
The first thing that deserves a mention has to be the character of Clay (Michael Goltz, see above), a grade-A asshole who I wished death upon within seconds of seeing him on screen. Seriously, I wanted Clay dead from the minute he emerged from his car, his chest exposed and clutching a can of PBR (that’s cheap beer for everyone outside the US). He continued to attract my hatred as he struts about, projecting his Neanderthalic ideals onto the group.
In fairness, the character was great fun and expertly handled by Goltz. He was a joy to watch and I actually laughed every time he was onscreen.
In all honesty, every character is marked for death within seconds, which personally, is what I love about slasher films. Goltz and Sommerfield hit that nail on the head within the first two minutes. The story gets moving quickly and the first victim dies within forty seconds of appearing onscreen. The introduction sets up a great pace which is kept up throughout the short film.
Teddy contains some great, innovative death scenes and instead of recoiling in fear and terror, I found myself chuckling and anticipating how the next victim would die.
One of the finest scenes in Teddy has to be the death of Aaron (Sommerfield ). Let me paint you a picture. Teddy has sneaked up on Aaron who is alone by a campfire in the middle of the woods. Nearby, Clay is having sex with his woman in a tent. Aaron is attacked with a hot dog (yes, a hot dog) then as he attempts to crawl away he finds himself sodomized by the wooden end of a torch, his screams of pain lost, masked by Clay and his girlfriend as they climax. The simultaneous screams of pleasure and pain had me laughing my ass off. I applaud the imagination behind that.
Teddy is well made, with good lighting and bags of atmosphere. It has a fun killer and I liked the less is more touch with regards to death scenes. (Well, most of them).
All things said, Teddy makes for a great little slasher flick. It’s fast, fun and easy to watch. It’s a light hearted 11 minute cocktail of death and laughs. I loved it.
