For this review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Bus Stop, a newly released short film from writer and director Zora Cielle Anri. The film is currently available to watch (for free!!) on YouTube. (Link included at the end of the review.) So, unlike some of the short films that I’ve reviewed in the recent past, you won’t have to travel to any film festivals that aren’t in your area to watch it… although you should still go to film festivals, or at least the ones close to wherever you live!

A young man named Holden (Josh Shea, who also appeared in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) sits alone at a secluded and not particularly well-lit bus stop late one evening. Just the thought of such a setting would be eerie and unsettling enough for many to seek a different place to wait for their lift, if not an entirely different means of transportation. Granted, this is not a trip that Holden is really looking forward to making.

Having just been denied admission to his chosen college due to lackluster grades, Holden is on his way back to his family home. His mother is naturally unpleased about this turn of events, although Holden has never quite felt on the same wavelength as his family. This may be why his mother claims that he constantly runs away from his problems. However, Holden now has nowhere else left to run and is feeling increasingly directionless in life. Lost and with no clue of what his next steps will be or if he even wants to take them, he begins to sink into his thoughts and despair.

He is soon distracted from his contemplation by the voice of a teenaged girl (Poppie Boyes – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) who has seemingly appeared from out of nowhere and is now seated next to him on the bus stop bench. When asked just how long she’d been sitting there, the girl answers in rather creepy fashion, informing Holden that not only has she been watching him for some time, but that she also knows what he’s thinking and feeling, as well as what his next actions will be. Thinking back to when I was around Holden’s age, my reaction would have been either becoming extremely unnerved or leaping headfirst into a massively doomed six-month long relationship with her (probably both). However, Holden instead rudely attempts to blow her off. The girl essentially ignores his demeanor and claims to know what he’s feeling: loneliness, sadness, and despair.

From here, the conversation continues with the girl disclosing the abuses that she has experienced, although she does claim to have found a new family. This dialogue is occasionally broken by Holden claiming to see shadowy figures watching them from the shadows. Things continue along in a rather foreboding manner, with Holden slowly becoming more unsettled by the scenario that he finds himself now in. Of course, events escalate, eventually revealing the truth of just what is actually unfolding.

Overall, Bus Stop may be somewhat predictable, possibly revealing a little too much a little too early. That said, I don’t find that this predictability hurts the film much, if at all. I found this trip to be more about the road travelled and less about the destination. Thankfully, our two young leads give respectably plausible performances. The camera work is also solid, with an interesting blur effect creeping around the edges of many shots, hinting that something is amiss.

I do feel obligated to state that for a “horror” short film, I never found Bus Stop to be particularly scary or spine-chilling. In fact, I found the film to be much more melancholy and sorrowful. This aspect alone may be enough to dissuade some horror fans from taking a chance on Bus Stop, but it may also be just enough of a different approach to draw the attention of others. Personally, I welcomed this direction as it kept the tale from becoming just another “scary story to tell in the dark” and helped it blossom into a reflection on the fragile nature of the human spirit. At only 13 minutes long, there’s much worse ways to spend your time… like waiting at an actual bus stop in the dead of night.

LINK: “Bus Stop” (2023) Horror Short Film