Horror Short 'Behind' Being Adapted Into Feature Film With Sam Raimi Producing
Horror shorts are becoming a goldmine for Hollywood. More and more, producers are turning to short horror films as fodder for feature-length adaptations. The Babadook, Lights Out, Mama and more all originated as short films. The trend continues with Behind, a short film written and directed by Angel Gomez that will now be turned into a feature, with Sam Raimi producing. More on the Behind movie below.
Behind
The horror short you see above will soon be a feature film, thanks to producer Sam Raimi. According to THR, Raimi and his Ghost House Pictures will be backing the feature adaptation, with original director Angel Gomez set to direct. Zak Olkewicz will write the script. Behind "centers on a woman going through a divorce who comes to fear that she will lose her baby daughter. When a mysterious lady at a party tells her that she is being followed, what seems at first like a delusion turns into a terrifying nightmare as the woman does everything she can to save her little one from evil."
Gomez, who wrote and directed the short, will be directing the feature as well. For more of Gomez's work, here's a nifty showreel.
Angel Gomez Showreel
The short film is pretty damn creepy, and hopefully will translate well to a full-length film. I'm a big fan of horror shorts (I wrote up ten great ones you can watch online right here!), but I also find that more often than not, the shorts lose much of their effectiveness when they get stretched into features. For example: the short film Lights Out is spooky and simple, while the full-length adaptation tacked on a bunch of needless mythology that robbed the short of its power.
Behind is just the latest short to get the feature-length treatment. Last year it was announced the short film They Hear It was being turned into a feature, with It Follows screenwriter David Robert Mitchell penning the script. Ditto Milk, a short-to-feature adaptation being produced by James Wan. Hopefully all of these adaptations turn out well, because I'm always up for more (good) horror.
The fact that Raimi, a horror legend, is involved with Behind is a good sign. Of course, it would be nice if he came back to direct a horror movie of his own, rather than just producing. In the meantime, Raimi's horror-producing slate also included the Grudge reboot from director Nicolas Pesce, set to be released this summer.