The world has a long history of atrocities. Many of them are done by governments to the people of other countries. Yet, said governments are often able to sweep their responsibilities for the tragedies under the rug.
This is the core idea behind the short “Swept Under” by Ethan Soo. 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
Cameron Milhous is a Cambodian refuge adopted by an American family as a child. When he moves into a new home, his sister gives him a housewarming gift, a rug she claims was made by a survivor of the Cambodian genocide. That night, when he prepares that rug to put in his house, unexplainable things start to happen.
Alvin Heng as Cameron Milhous in “Swept Under”
Pay No Attention
This short opens with an archival clip of Richard Nixon giving a speech about the genocide in Cambodia. So it lets the audience know right from the beginning what this short will really be about.
It creates a sense of dread with the mystery of what’s going on with this rug. The mystery is never truly explained, and it’s that mystery that ensures that the audience can never be sure what’s going to happen.
In the end, the main theme isn’t just represented by what happens to Cameron. It’s also about how the incident remains unknown by everybody else. The evidence of what happened is literally right under their feet, but they can never see it.
And it is meant to clearly parallel the American government’s part in the Cambodian genocide. So much so, that the last scene plays alongside of news footage explaining the genocide. This might not be subtle, but it does definitely get the point across. And it ends with a list of other international incidents the American government has responsibility for. It is a protest against the government that proves that the real terror is the real world government.
What Makes It Killer
What this short lacks in subtlety, it makes up for with creepiness and its rebellious themes. It is a criticism of foreign policy cloaked in the disguise of a simple horror story about an evil rug.
Watch it below.
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