Slash FF review: Don’t Be Afraid (2024)
Slash Film Festival
Fantastic Shorts Competition
Deer or wolf? What would you choose to be as a child, especially when your father is the one addressing the question? A wolf, of course. A courageous, big, bad wolf who scares any deer trying to approach. Right?
Written and directed by Mats Udd and starring David Dencik (No Time to Die) as the lead actor, the horror short Don’t Be Afraid is screened in the Fantastic Short Competition of the SLASH Film Festival. Filled with everything this genre can offer – mystery, psychological terror, tragedy, suspense, and jump scares – the 15-minute film follows a photographer trying to come to terms with the disappearance of his son.
With its predominantly blue (and occasionally red) hues, a 4:3 aspect ratio, and chilling sounds like the wind blowing powerfully in the background, ‘Don’t Be Afraid’ has the perfect recipe for a visually stunning, creepy atmosphere. But the truth behind the tormented and unfortunate artist is even more terrifying. The title has a double meaning, divulging the name of the protagonist’s current exhibition, featuring shots of the dark woods where his child got lost, as well as the father’s last encouragement when he left him alone to test his bravery for a quarter of an hour – the duration of the short. I guess Scooby Doo was right with this one: monsters are always human.
Hunted by the recurring dream of a deer appearing in front of his camera lens, the father explains the situation to the audience through an interview and a Q&A during the opening, only to leave in a hurry when visitors discover something strange in the photographs. From there, his nightmare begins, his guilty conscience intertwining the real with the imaginary. An unsettling dance unfolds – one between predator and prey – exposed only by the brief flashes of the camera.
Original Title: Du behöver inte vara rädd
Country: Sweden
Language: Swedish
Runtime: 15′
Year: 2024
Writer|Director: Mats Udd
Producer: Martin Grimlund
Production Company: Breakable Films
Cast: David Dencik, Ingela Olsson, Jörgen Thorsson, Mira Eklund, David Francett
Director of Photography: Viktor Skogqvist
Costume Designer: Evelina Ulvinen
Production Designer: Jennie Boqvist
Composer: Jakob Lindhagen
Editor: Anton Skott
1st AD: Nils Janlert
2nd AD|Casting: Sofie Bällstav
3rd AD: Edith Lyles
Assistant Producer: Petra Krigström Gentile
Production Manager: Olof Rindestad
Hair|Make Up: Alice Lönnblad
