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The 20 Best Video Essays of 2020

In a year when we needed distractions, these were the video essays that kept us digging deep into the content we love.
Best Video Essays
By  · Published on December 21st, 2020

“Howl’s Moving Castle – an Underrated Masterpiece”

Sneak Peek:

Much like Accented Cinema’s Crayon Shin-chan video, this essay about Howl’s Moving Castle digs into the enigma of comfort food in trying times, retreating unabashedly into comfiness and the attractive hope that in the end we choose kindness and get to be with the people we love. It’s a love letter to escapism that knows escapism is just that. It’s bittersweet and heartfelt, two states of mind especially well-suited when discussing a film by Hayao Miyazaki.

Essay By:

Jace, a.k.a  BREADSWORD is an LA-based video essayist who specializes in long-form nostalgia-tinged love letters to traditionally ignored animation features. Impeccably edited and smoother than butter, you can subscribe to them on YouTube here. And you can follow them on Twitter here.


“Queen’s Gambit: Creating Conflict Without Words – Scene Breakdown”

Sneak Peek:

By a long shot, this was my favorite scene breakdown of the year. On the one hand, chess represents one of the most cinematic things imaginable: two people, sitting down, having a conversation. And yet, portraying a game of chess on screen is not so easy. With this in mind, the essay outlines how The Queen’s Gambit uses physical performance, cinematography, and sound design to create conflict and communicate stakes.

Essay By:

This video essay was created by Virginia-based filmmaker and video editor Thomas Flight, who runs a YouTube channel under the same name. You can follow Thomas Flight and check out his back catalog of video essays on YouTube here. You can follow him on Twitter here.


“Using Cuts as a Visual Effect”

Sneak Peek:

When it comes to visual effects, sometimes all you need is a well-timed cut. That’s the premise of this essay, which celebrates one of the oldest special effects out there: cutting! With plenty of examples (many of which may surprise you!), this essay is a marvelous testament to how effective it can be to simply cut between two takes.

Essay By:

Writer, director, and video essayist David F. Sandberg (of Shazam! fame) is stuck at home and making excellent quarantine content. Including no-budget horror films in his own house, starring his wife and frequent collaborator Lotta Losten (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation). You can follow Sandberg on Vimeo and on Twitter.


“Mandy: The Film Concert”

Sneak Peek:

Mandy is still reverberating in my head like an especially righteous guitar wail, which is appropriate given that sound is one of the most important elements in the film. This essay compellingly outlines what makes Mandy a “film-concert,” a.k.a. a film that foregrounds its aural elements to the extent that sound itself becomes the film’s biggest attraction.

Essay By:

This video was made by Alex Hobbs as part of “The Practice of Film Criticism” module at the University of Warwick Film & TV Department. You can read more about Hobbs’ process in creating the essay about two-thirds of the way through this post.


“The Unseen Terror of Possum

Sneak Peek:

This essay brought me right back to the childhood feeling of flipping through the horror section at my local (long-gone) video store, finding an evocative VHS tape, and making a silent vow to watch that shit as soon as possible. I had never heard of Possum or its gross, human-faced spider puppet before this video essay. I have since watched it twice.

Essay By:

This video is by Ryan Hollinger, a Northern Irish video essayist with a background in design and animation who specializes in horror films. You can check out Hollinger’s podcast The Carryout on SoundCloud here. And you can subscribe to Hollinger’s YouTube account here.

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Based in the Pacific North West, Meg enjoys long scrambles on cliff faces and cozying up with a good piece of 1960s eurotrash. As a senior contributor at FSR, Meg's objective is to spread the good word about the best of sleaze, genre, and practical effects.