The Killing Joke, from Sebastian Lopez, is an homage to classic horror films. Through great cinematography and careful editing this short film achieves its greatness. The story is about a young woman who finds herself alone on a strange and eerie road, but upon discovering a little box tied to a red balloon she begins to wonder if she really is alone after all. Yes, the film is all sorts of creepy, but it isn't in your face about it like modern horror films. There's no grisly murders to see, no violence, and hardly any dialogue. What you get here instead is a tense, terrifying 15 minutes in a young woman's life. The lack of clarity of what's actually going on is the video's greatest strength and what makes it oh-so-suspenseful.
