Have you ever visited a site called Daily Grindhouse? It’s a pretty cool movie site. They do news, they do reviews, they have a spotlight on Asian cinema (that sound you hear is me swooning. It’s like a combination of happy fart face and hangry chipmunk.). They also do a shorts section, which, frankly, is far better than what I do here. There’s full-on research (it would be like if Talicia staged a coup and took over this shorts column). This lady is definitely able to say where her site’s strengths are, and, well, Saturday Shorts is my fun space; analysis is where I mean business. These guys do shorts well, and as such, I’m not shy about seeing that they think is cool. One such entry is Your Date Is Here, a short from Todd Spence and Zak White. Give it a whirl.

I love the lighting of this film so much. Films that have that slightly overcast, nicotine-like film to it just set me right in the mood to get scared. Do not doubt the power of good lighting, people. It is a powerful tool, and one day, I hope to have someone follow me around for 24 hours with perfect lighting. I will look like fucking Princess Aurora when I sleep, goddamn it.

Thematically, I really enjoyed the throwback aspect of the board game being a harbinger of terror; having grown up in the 1980s, I can attest to how gross and warped some of those dating board games made some young women. Fostering a warped sense of chivalry aside, Spencer and White make a clean, straight-forward film that doesn’t overstay its welcome, and features people we’d actually encounter. That’s half of why it’s so scary – this looks like your mom, or your little sister, or your daughter. Of course it’s creepy, because it features an old-fashioned game, and we each had something old we irrationally disliked when we were kids, be it a doll or a game or a musical toy or a picture. Suddenly, that relic in your closet is a bit more insidious. Your new daddy might be waiting for you in the kitchen.

Happy Saturday.