DIRECTED BY: Jason Hoover and others
REVIEWED BY: Mario Dominick
After giving us the “Meat Eater”-themed The Collective Vol. 1 short films compilation, Jason Hoover and the fine folks of Illinois’ JABB Pictures bring us another mind-bending collection of 10 short films from 10 different production companies, this collection being centered around the theme “The Box.” Yes, “The Box.” The Collective Vol. 2 proves that boxes can be an interesting thing. They can be mysterious, hold special powers and sometimes be deadly. We take a look at what gives them these characteristics in the following shorts:
1. “Fertility 2.0” from David Ross and Liberty or Death Productions is a black and white story about a couple who are dealing with the fact that they can’t have a child, that is, until the husband comes across the “Fertility 2.0” website which provides him with a special box he can use to fuse his DNA with the home computer so they can have their own “cyber-made” baby. Unfortunately, obtaining this artificial cyber fertility comes with a price.
2. “Illusion” from Dakota Meyer and Red Panic Button Films is the story of a woman who sees a box sitting atop a mailbox near the post office while driving one day. She sees the box appear, then disappear and reappear over and over again, in mirrors, on television, etc. The box begins chipping away at her hold on sanity, leading to a shocking conclusion.
3. “Snapcase” from Eric Schneider and Graphik 13 Films concerns what happens when young man truly “snaps his case” so to speak. One day he comes across a package in his mailbox that contains a mysterious small box. He opens the lid and it suddenly turns him into a homicidal maniac who goes after people on a list entitled “People Who Have It Coming.”
4. “It Crawls Back In” from Jay Mattingly (who Toe Tag fans may remember as Gromer in the “Bullied” segment of Murder Collection Vol. 1) and his production company Grue Opus Films is the story of a young man who finds a box with an eyeball in it. He starts to have a weird recurring dream in which he sees the body of his sister laid out on a table in the woods and wakes up occasionally spitting up blood. He also has visions of a mysterious assailant wearing a potato sack over his head. The dreams and visions appear to lead him into something terrifying.
5. The fifth short, which doesn’t appear to have an onscreen title, from Jason Hoover and Death Hug Films is about a boy who finds a box while digging in his backyard. He’s sick of a bully constantly throwing him off the basketball court while he’s playing with his toy soldiers. The box reveals a bizarre scheme to get back at the bully in which the bully is in an interrogation room with a man and a box and the man keeps repeating, “We need you to open this box. If you do so, you will die. If you choose not to, you will die. We need you to open this box.” He repeats it over and over again slowly driving the bully into a state of madness.
6. “2 Guys 1 Box” from Edward X. Young and Suzie Does Horror is the story of two junkies who kidnap a prostitute and hold her for ransom to obtain a box that will help them complete a bizarre ritual. Needless to say, the ritual doesn’t exactly work to their liking.
7. “Exile” from Cameron Scott and Quattro Venti Scott Productions focuses on a homicidal mental patient isolated in a disgustingly filthy bathroom with crayon and colored pencil drawings hanging from the walls. A female doctor comes in with a box, seeking to get behind the cause of his madness.
8. “Boundary” from Jason Hoover and JABB Pictures is a black and white short story about a serial killer who finds he has come across another killer’s stomping grounds when he discovers a box and a note. He brutally kills a woman in her home. He then finds another message from the other killer in a convenience store restroom. The question remaining is what will happen when they finally cross paths?
9. “Keepsake” from Shannon Feaster and So-So Pix is a story of a couple haunted by the ghost of a little girl who the husband accidentally killed with his car years ago. The appearance of a keepsake box and the head of a child’s doll first signifies the return of her spirit. The couple is consumed by madness.
10. “Pulse” from Jason Hoover and Spiral Filmworks is a nifty sci-fi short about a scientist creating a box to open up wormholes. He wires the box up to a car battery, giving him the ability to move to different positions in time and space. This story has a very Twilight Zone feel to it.
The Collective Vol. 2 is another highly enjoyable shorts compilation with a wide array of gruesome, bizarre, and twisted shorts. One of the best segments is “Fertility 2.0.” It has a very Japanese cyberpunk look to it with the black and white picture and the Tetsuo-esque imagery. “Snapcase” is very over-the-top with some Kevin Smith inspirations in its ending. “Pulse” is a very cool and intelligent sci-fi story and is an interesting take on a subject that has been explored by scientists around the world and what a person could do if they possessed such powers. “Boundary” is probably the best short as it features Jason and JABB Pictures’ expected brutal and artistic styles and would make for an interesting feature film should one ever come to fruition. “It Crawls Back In” from Jay Mattingly was a welcome addition as well. I look forward to seeing more projects from him in the future.
Go over to www.jabbpictures.com and order your copy of The Collective Vol. 2 today.
