Writer/director Elwood Quincy Walker‘s The Rule of Three is one horror short you don’t want to miss, an award-winning tale that brings a new level of depth to the home invasion slasher. Channeling the vibes of Mike Flanagan’s Hush and more specifically Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers, it uses the home invasion set-up to explore the nightmare of living with OCD.
Hannah Barefoot (“Creepshow”) stars as a woman haunted by her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and intrusive thoughts who must overcome herself and face her inner demons to survive a terrifying home invasion from three masked slashers. As she feared, it seems breaking her “Rule of Three” routine is going to have disastrous and bloody consequences.
The 14-minute short film is tense and indeed bloody, with surprising emotional depth packed into its short runtime. The good news? It’s now streaming on YouTube via ALTER.
You can watch The Rule of Three down below.
The Rule of Three has been awarded and screened at top genre festivals such as Filmquest, Horrible Imaginings and Screamfest. It recently won Best Student Film at Screamfest, the largest and longest running horror film festival in the United States, making Elwood Quicy Walker the youngest director to win that particular award at the age of 20.