I never watch as many short films as I should or could. Short films of course are shorter than feature length which means I could easily watch more films each year if I just watched more shorts. But for whatever reason  I don’t. Out of an average of 300 movies I watch each year, perhaps 15 of them are short films. I don’t know what that says about me, or whether it says anything at all about me, its just the way it is.  But now and again a short film comes my way that I want to make time for, that I’m excited to see, and really want to give it (the film) or the filmmaker the attention I feel it (the film) or the filmmaker deserves. One such film is the 2024 short film The Moors (not to be confused with the 2023 Chris Cronin film The Moor) Written & Directed by Adam Mawson (co written by Harvey Mawson) who helmed the 2019 sci fi film Abduction, The Moors takes us into werewolf territory and in its half hour run time, successfully throws a ton of gore, bite, and a crazy set of characters all in our direction and it works wonderfully. Now I do like Adam’s 2019 film Abduction, but The Moors is definitely several steps up from that film in every way. The Moors is beautifully shot and uses its locations wonderfully, there’s some gorgeous overhead shots (which I am guessing is drone footage) which help make the films atmosphere stand out even more. Its use of practical effects also deserves some high fives and Adam tip toe perfectly the “show enough, but not too much” tightrope when it comes to monster movies. We see all we need to see to embrace the story we are tagging along with for the fun ride.   Looking on the IMDB page, it states the budget for The Moors was £1000 and if that figure is correct then Adam and his crew have done a fantastic job for that small amount,  it looks like it would have cost far more than that amount judging from what we see on screen. 

I also want to give a high five to the sound design of the film. I watched the film on a large screen but also through big headphones and oh the sound design is super creepy and really really works when it comes to atmosphere building. So treat yourself when you do watch The Moors, make your viewing environment dark, quiet, and stick the sound on loud. 

For a short film it does have a pretty extensive cast including Sebastian Storey (Altered Space),  Adam Probets ( Ghost Track) , Andrea Kovacs (Birthday Blood), Keith Dickinson ( Give Them Wings), Stephen Newsham (Misty Morning), Jez Marshall (Abduction), Dylan Miles- Davis (The Hunters Prayer) Danny Cunningham (Coronation Street), and Adam Mawson in a nice little role at the very start of the film who kicks the whole film off to a great start. 

So whilst the run time of The Moors is short (30 minutes which includes credits & a  mid credit scene) it packs a whole lot into it and considering its a whole bunch of hours since I finished watching the film, many of the characters are still in my head and I kinda wish that The Moors was a feature film. But perhaps the fact that The Moors is a short film, and sticks with me after Ive seen it- perhaps that makes is more special in that it didn’t outstay its welcome. Adam knew how long the film needed to be, to tell the story it needed to and leave me wanting more! and I do want more. It was 2019 when Adam helmed Abduction and 2024 when The Moors arrived. I’m hoping that its not too long a gap before we see another film from writer/director Adam Mawson. I for one will be there to see it.

I am not 100% sure on the release schedule of The Moors but when that information is released, I shall update this article. In the mean time You can follow the official Facebook Group HERE