Movies

‘Tuck Me In’ Packs the Punch of a Horror Feature in Just One Minute

By  · Published on March 2nd, 2017

Short of the Day

Your kids are going to have to put themselves to bed from now on.

It takes a lot to convey tone, atmosphere, and a complete narrative in under one minute of screentime, but that’s exactly what director Ignacio F. Rodo and writer Juan J. Ruiz have accomplished with Tuck Me In, a mind-bending, goosebump-raising short that takes a common and seemingly-innocuous event – putting one’s children to bed – and turns it into something so subtly terrifying I hesitate to say too much more. Let’s just leave it at this: kids get all kinds of paranoid at bedtime, wanting you to check the closet, under the bed, et cetera, and in Tuck Me In, the paranoia is real. That said, don’t expect effects and jump scares here; like the best horror Tuck Me In is more psychological than supernatural, which is what makes such a short film so powerful and resonant.

Normally when I see a short this good, especially a genre short, I wonder what could come of it being expanded into a feature. This one, though, I think is perfect as-is. It takes only a minute of your time to watch but I guarantee it will stay with you for a very, very long time.

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