During a Christmas ceasefire in 1944, two American soldiers serving in northern Europe encounter a nightmare they did not expect.
Trench of the Damned could be a spiritual sequel to Overlord. With allied soldiers on the front lines of northern Europe falling foul of some gruesome Nazi experiments. Unsurprisingly, there is an eeriness to this short film, but also an authenticity. In fact, bar a couple of anachronisms, it's impressive how period accurate everything looks. That unnerving eeriness, however, goes well beyond the dark and freezing fog of winter, as the twisted screams of whatever it is the Nazis have cooked up, haunt the battlefield.
Could this simply be a test? Maybe even part of some larger battle plan? Or is it nothing more than a last ditch attempt to snatch victory from the allies? Whatever it is, this late-night encounter certainly comes as a surprise to Burke (Daniel Griesheimer) and Kincaid (Motti Ken). Griesheimer and Motti bring a restless energy to the two soldiers, who are already struggling with the uncertainty of this impromptu ceasefire, and things only get worse when they begin to realise they may not be alone out there.
After a brief visit to the German side of the line, in which writer/director Mark Murtha goes big evil as the officer responsible for this nightmare - seriously, the only thing he's missing is a moustache to twirl - 'The Experiment' (Sean Worthen) is unleashed. Which, as with the rest of this spine-tingling short film, is somewhat shrouded in mystery. Not that we're left with much time to dwell on that, because we are understandably distracted by the entity that is bearing down on Burke and Kincaid.
Worthen, caked in some rather horrifying prosthetics, looks almost melted, and yet he moves in such a way that makes The Experiment look like a broken doll. Cutting between those almost inhuman movements of the creature and the horrified looks of the two American soldiers, there is a definite and sudden sense of alarm. You may even find yourself willing them to run, as they try to figure out what it is that's coming their way, seemingly frozen with fear. And when Burke and Kincaid finally do confront the gruesome creation, we learn - in gory detail - just what it's capable of.
As both a short film and a proof of concept, Trench of the Damned is haunting. There is that chilling sense of doom that horror fans love, keeping you on edge for most of its 12 minute runtime. But it doesn't do exactly what you'd expect, leaving you with more than a few questions. The big one being; what the hell is going on? Is it about winning the war, or world domination, or something entirely more sinister? Whatever it is, clearly this nightmare is only just beginning.
A chilling horror short film/proof of concept. Trench of the Damned may leave you with more questions than answers, but the plight of these two unfortunate soldiers proves unnervingly gripping. So much so, you can't help wanting to know more.
8/10
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