The Man Who Lived Under the Porch (2019)

The Man Who Lived Under the Porch (2019) - United States

Directed by: Travis Vulture

ABOUT THE FILM:

The Man Who Lived Under the Porch is a brand new short film from haunted house scare actor Travis Vulture.

This experimental short plays out as a first-hand experience of a woman who has been captured and held captive by a demented man who lives under her porch. The man is filthy, donning tattered and torn, blood (and feces?)-stained clothing, and sports very greasy and nappy hair. He introduces himself to the woman as a self-proclaimed "encyclopedia salesman", and berates her for not purchasing one of his books. In a fit of rage, he destroys one of his books. As the short progresses, we bear witness as the man seems to switch personas, from a salesman, to a dancer, to a culinary artist.

The man becomes increasingly more hostile and violent towards his victim. He proceeds to cut out portions of his own hair and eat it on a sandwich, threatening to make his victim into a sandwich as well.

REVIEW:

This short film, while not necessarily scary or gory, is definitely intense and there are a lot of small details to digest.

Travis Vulture is a very convincing scare actor who truly proves to be intimidating in this lo-fi video romp. Travis successfully showcases his range as an actor through his character, as his character's change in persona is shown through his behavior. One minute he's screaming expletives at the victim, played by Emma Lenar, and tearing things apart, and the next he's eating a hair-sandwich and imploring the victim to have a bite. What I find interesting about this concept is that it takes a profession such as an encyclopedia salesman, which isn't usually considered scary, and actually makes it disturbing.

The man's state of mental decay is further emphasized not only by his own body language, but through effects and filters as well. I should mention that the short was shot using a Panasonic VHS camera, and was filmed in one take with no edits, barring a few in-camera effects that were used during filming. The home-video quality image only makes the given scenario feel more visceral and dirty. It feels as if I'm truly watching through the eyes of a victim who wants nothing more than to retreat back to their brighter life, when instead she is roped into the midst of this twisted man's world. Occasionally the image will invert, mirror or turn pixelated which further brings the madness to life, during which point the man is having a breakdown or transitioning into a different state of mind, thus successfully capturing his mental instability.

Lastly, underneath all of the madness we're treated to a couple of great brutal death metal tracks, courtesy of Wisconsin-based one-man-band Putrid Pile. The music fits perfectly when matched with a mentally unstable individual.

At first glance, the average viewer could brush off The Man as just another cheap YouTube horror short. But if one pays attention and examines the behaviors portrayed, it becomes evident how well-thought out such a piece is. This little piece of experimental performance art is absolutely worth checking out, and I'm looking forward to seeing more work from these filmmakers in the future.

RELEASES:

The Man Who Lived Under the Porch is currently available to watch on YouTube.

It can be viewed here.