Ennui

One of the very first things I had to do in high school was dress up like a mime and not speak for an entire day.

This was tradition, you see, for anyone who wanted to join my high school's drama club. It was part of what we all affectionately referred to as "hell week," a sort of... light hazing, if you will, but Mime Day – which always fell on a Tuesday, for whatever reason – was my favorite. As the kid who couldn't shut up, I became fascinated by these people who took the art I loved so much – performance, storytelling – and did it without a word.

When I was first dipping my toes into the horror genre, first trying to find a story to tell, I knew it wouldn't be possible if I didn't have a monster that compelled me. I thought about hockey masks and knife fingers and wondered what else there was to unearth in this genre. How could I find a unique monster, a character to tell a story through that really stuck out from the crowd? I thought of the clowny visage of Jigsaw, of Art from TERRIFIER and the killer clowns from outer space, and I remembered Mime Day. "There are so many killer clowns," I thought, "but has there ever been a killer MIME?"

Well, now there has: Ennui is here. I think, perhaps, my affection for him – and mimes in general – can be felt through the story, and that's okay. At the end of the day, monsters in horror movies can save us, just like Ennui is trying to save Jackie in this little short. I hope he brings you a smile!