Sometimes music can kill.
This is what happens in the horror-comedy short “Death Metal,” by Chris McInroy. It is now streaming on Alter’s YouTube channel, and you can also watch it at the end of this article. It might inspire you to get your own script ready for the current Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition.
The Plot
Lars is an aspiring metal guitarist, trying to make money by playing in the park. When his endeavors prove fruitless, his father hands him a valuable family heirloom: a guitar made by Satan himself. It will make him better at guitar, but there are rules to playing it, including that he couldn’t play it to make money. However, Lars manages to break all of these rules at once, and mayhem ensues.
Kirk Johnson as Lars in Death Metal
That’s Metal!
Death Metal is an over-the-top splatter comedy. It is less than five minutes long, but still fills that time with a ridiculous amount of blood and gore. Right after quickly setting up the story, it get straight into the campy violence, with almost no time between the maiming and killing. Most of the victims are not even set up. And in a movie with this tone, they don’t need to be. They exist only to get killed by the guitar.
It presents a near constant onslaught of violence, where not even children and babies are safe. But it still maintains a level of comedy through how campy and over the top it is. The actors ham it up, except for Lars who has an overly casual reaction to the gruesome event surrounding him. The blood sprays in exaggerated amounts, and some of the bodies are still standing after being killed. The camp allows it to strike a good balance between disturbing and fun.
But it doesn’t forget to have fun before the massacre. It is edited in a fast paced style that can be compared to Edgar Wright, and has plenty of humor. And it maintains that energy throughout.
What Makes It Killer
“Death Metal” is a short full of gore, camp, and, of course, death metal. And it all comes together to a fun time.
Watch it below.
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