Watch: Unsettling Horror Short Film ‘A Doll Distorted’ by Niall Shukla

“I wish this could be real and not just imaginary.” This love doll short film is as creepy as they come. A Doll Distorted is a horror short made by filmmaker Niall Shukla, and after playing at festivals for the last few years, it’s finally available online. Just in time for Halloween so everyone can extra unnerved. Jane suffers from haphephobia (the pathological fear of touch) – tormented by years of loneliness and isolation she orders a synthetic love doll online to nightmarish consequences. This was made with only a crew of 2 people, and it was selected for over 60 festivals and won over 12 Jury Awards. Niall “made the film almost entirely by himself serving as the writer, director, editor, producer, set designer, sound designer, VFX artist, DP and composer. He had only 1 other crew member on the short, his lighting & camera assistant.” Starring Nicci Brighten as Jane. This starts out creepy, but it gets totally insane by the end. Masterfully unsettling.

Thanks to Short of the Week for debuting this online. Brief description from YouTube: “Jane suffers from haphephobia (the pathological fear of touch), tormented by years of loneliness and isolation she orders a synthetic love doll online to nightmarish consequences.” A Doll Distorted is both written and directed by London-based filmmaker Niall Shukla – can you view more of his work on his Vimeo or visit his official website. The entire film is made by Niall – who studied Economics & Philosophy – including editing, music, and sound design. “I was the writer, director, editor, producer, set designer, sound designer, VFX artist, composer and cinematographer. I had only 1 other crew member — a lighting assistant,” he explains. The film originally premiered in 2018 and played at over 60 festivals, winning 12 jury awards over the past two years. For more on the film, visit Niall’s official website or SOTW. To see more shorts, click here. Thoughts?