We are constantly looking for new and different films when it comes to bringing you the best in genre entertainment. Short films are often where you find the most exciting new filmmakers taking chances, yet most audiences don’t seek them out. With that in mind, we will be showcasing a short film each week in an effort to give a signal boost to shorts we enjoy. This week’s short is THAT WHICH LINGERED.

Sometimes, you’re just in the mood for a good ghost story. That is exactly what you get with THAT WHICH LINGERED. There is nothing especially original about the film. There is the innocent child (Vilja Stiernlöf) who creepily informs her father (Martin Rutegård) about a ghostly presence. There is the denial of anything supernatural happening by the father that seems to come from a deeper, more painful place than simple loss. There is a callback in the final scene to a symbolic object from the first scene. It all falls into place quite neatly.

But writer/director Albin Glasell constructs his simple, scary movie with a deft efficiency. There are no over-explanations of what happened to the deceased who is now a possible ghostly presence or why there is such a strained relationship between the father and daughter. He allows glances between characters and the father’s fear of his daughter going swimming to fill in all the exposition the audience needs before hitting an understated, yet powerful climax. And he does it all in seven minutes. This is how you craft a well-made, impactful short film.

–Matt Wedge (@MovieNerdMatt)

• Author
• Recent Posts

Matt Wedge

Matt Wedge is a writer, film fanatic, and cat herder whose obsession with the films of Larry Cohen and sticking up for unfairly-maligned cinematic bombs can be read at his site, Obsessive Movie Nerd. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheWedgeSerpent.

Latest posts by Matt Wedge (see all)

Tags: Albin Glasell, Ghost Stories, Martin Rutegård, Short Film of the Week, That Which Lingered, Vilja Stiernlöf