Short Film Review: Echoes Of The Passed (2017)

Echoes Of The Passed is a short horror film from director Scott Lyus, and writer Tony Sands who also plays a role in the film. It’s about four people who decide to stay the night in a well-known haunted house, and after meeting and some conversation, the night takes an unexpected turn.

The cinematography, sound, and lighting were all fantastic. All of these things together made what was a great atmospheric experience, and spooky vibe throughout the film.

The acting was great. There were only four actors, but despite not having a lot of experience, Sophie Tergeist was great as the feisty Liz, and Mac Mcfadden did a great job as Fred. Tony Sands was nominated for best actor at one of the festivals it premiered at, and Paul Dewdney has 179 acting credits mostly in just the past few years, which is an amazing amount of experience in that amount of time, and was fantastic in this.

The ending brought nice closure to the film. Often in short films, it’s hard to wrap everything up in a short amount of time, but this one really got it right. The end of this film was great, and the professor even has a dialogue that reminded us of Bela Lugosi’s famous “Home, I have no home” speech.

There were a couple of moments in which there was some interjected comedy that didn’t need to really be there. There is a scene with a phone call we thought would have been better left out. It is a horror film after all, and when you are in that pocket where you set up a creepy tension and atmosphere, those comedic moments break it and the viewer has to reset. Stay in that pocket. Even big budget films are guilty of this. It’s not a fault, just an observation.

We would have loved to see this as a longer film. There is a lot more that could have been done with this story, and it definitely could have used some more depth.

Overall, Echoes Of The Passed is a great short horror film that provides some excellent tension and atmosphere. We loved it, and hope to see more from Scott Lyus and team in the future.

Echoes Of The Passed is currently screening on the festival circuit at present, with Starburst Media City Film Festival, in Manchester next month being the next stop. Make sure to check it out if you are in the area, and keep an eye out for it at your local film festivals.
Also be sure to see Scott’s other film “Silently Within Your Shadow” starring Bill Mosely on Amazon Prime here: https://www.amazon.com/Silently-Within-Your-Shadow-Moseley/dp/B071LQWHGY