Who wants to read a review that’s longer than the film?  Nobody, that’s who.  So here’s my take on a short film that will get you primed to see it, or prepped to pass on it.  Onward, to Trouser Snake!

“You didn’t get the shaft on this one, Thomas.”

Gotta admit the title had me intrigued.  And I was ready to get a whole lot of giggling done, I won’t lie.  Trouser Snake definitely has a fun, spoofy look to it, but would this short pay off? People, for a no-budget horror short film, I’m impressed.  Is it the best thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life?  Um, this is a short horror film, it’s not supposed to be cinema.  It’s supposed to be fun, and it sure is.  Playfully ridiculous, Trouser Snake is something horror fans can sink their…teeth into.

This short is definitely spoofy, and echoes Troma films with its sense of devil-may-care weirdness. I also thought of Basket Case, Bad Johnson, and of course “Detachable Penis” by King Missile.  There’s great, lighthearted sound editing, especially during the scene where the doctor makes a house call.  Think live-action “Looney Tunes”, but with a huge, evil penis bent (heh) on world destruction.  Or something.

The cast is game as hell, and while the story is played straight, the dialogue, camera angles and editing dials up the camp.  I wished for a more coherent plot, but with a run time at just under five minutes, perhaps the non-linear scenes helped keep the story brief. Super low budget, but I can see the full blown send-up this could be with a little money here and there, and a slightly longer run time. With solid set design, costuming and lighting – maybe even shooting/converting to B&W? – this could be a really fun time along the lines of Grindhouse‘s mid-movie faux trailers.

Trouser Snake feels like the start of a full-blown 50s feature film spoof, and there’s a final scene that hints at another short. There’s plenty of backstory left to dig into, as the reason for Tommy’s…condition is left a mystery.

Weird, silly, and definitely something you’ll remember.