The indie horror short Router had its world premiere at last month's NYC Halloween Film Festival, an appropriate locale for this anxiety-inducing creepfest starring Britt Vicars as Jeanine. When her internet goes down, Jeanine discovers a disturbing, hidden signal listed on her neighbor's router. 

Put together at the height of the pandemic, Router likely benefited from its straightforward storytelling and from an absolutely chilling performance from Vicars as a young woman who finds herself in a situation we can all likely relate to at least until we can't. 

I've long felt that the best horror comes out of relatability and it's that relatability that amps up the horror in Router. Router is as much a thriller as it is horror, Spahn's story more concerned with the psychological build-up of Jeanine's fear than any sort of gore. It's a thrilling blast watching Vicars' transformation over the course of the film's modest yet perfect eight minutes. There's not a second wasted here and Vicars is sublime in every single one of them. 

D.P. Thomas Brunot excellently captures the film's urban, single locale where even a single shadow can be both comforting and terrifying. The original music by Pablo Signori rides this line perfectly, as well, with notes that seemingly comfort and notes that seemingly taunt all along the way. While Spahn's story feels somewhat familiar, he tosses in enough twists and turns to keep us on our toes and constantly wondering what's going to happen next. 

This micro-short was made available on Vimeo right after its fest world premiere and is definitely a film to check out for fans of the indie horror scene. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic