Debut: Nuhash Humayun’s ‘Moshari’ Is Short Horror On Top Of Its Game
The countless film adaptions on vampires and vampire-like creatures have led many to believe the trope has been creatively bled dry. But Moshari (when translated, means ‘the mosquito net’) is a nail-biting, white-knuckle-inducing, and creative short horror film that shows the trope can still be elevated and surprise an audience with more than just a monster jump scare. Director and writer Nuhash Humayun takes viewers to a dystopian Earth overrun by blood-sucking monsters that attack at night. The story follows two young sisters in Bangladesh, Apu and Ayra (Sunerah Binte Kamal and Nairah Onora Saif), who survive by shielding themselves against the creatures with a mosquito net. But when the two are attacked by one of the creatures, a heart-racing sequence ensues that classic and modern horror movie fans will be dying to see more of.
A lot of things work for Moshari that make it a success. Most notably, the way it’s not a film about monsters that go bump in that night but about two sisters surviving. While the jump scares are quite effective, Apu and Ayra’s relationship makes the film an elevated piece. Moshari elevates the short horror film formula to a Jordan Peele level—who joined as an executive producer for the short film on behalf of Monkeypaw Productions— by including certain nuances in the script between the sisters that seem to go deeper than the surface level. While many short films follow a similar formula of tension-building followed by a jump scare before the credits roll, Moshari builds on that classic narrative formula by including Peele-style-elevated horror aspects in the mix with the sisters’ complex relationship, intricate worldbuilding, and clever script. The performances by Kamal and Saif are a major highlight as the two have great chemistry as on-screen sisters.
Moshari premiered in 2022 on the film festival circuit with great success, and it remains one of the best short horror films recently released. Humayun wrote the film based on his childhood fears growing up in Bangladesh of the shadows that the moshari he slept under would occasionally cast. With a tight budget, Humayun and his team created an impressive and visually stunning film worthy of a big studio feature-length reimagined release. The film utilized some great locations for shooting, including a swamp, graveyard, and abandoned Coca-Cola factory, all dazed dreary tones of green. The film has won numerous awards, including Best Short and Governor of Tokyo Award at the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, an Audience Award at Fantasia, and Best Midnight Short at South by Southwest.
