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The Scarlet Terror

A man encounters a malevolent entity and its shiny scarlet ride on his way home from class.

  • Ben Mortenson
    Director
  • Ben Mortenson
    Writer
  • Ben Mortenson
    Producer
  • Duke Ross
    Key Cast
    "Thomas"
  • Andrew Clayton
    Key Cast
    "The Figure"
  • Joss Gyorkos
    Production Assistant
    Snow & Water
  • Ben Mortenson and Andrew Clayton
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Horror, Psychological, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 27, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    50 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Ben Mortenson

Ben Mortenson is a filmmaker based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Scarlet Terror is his debut short. He is currently studying Film and Media Arts at the University of Utah, and is excited to continue learning the craft and creating films.

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Director Statement

This film was born out of my immense fear of walking back to my car after night classes. Crossing several dead parking lots and empty streets has to be one of the creepiest experiences out there, and so my mind naturally began to concoct a freakish story that explored just what could be lurking out there under those yellow street lamps.

This film was challenging to make due to my inexperience with cameras, combined with cold temperatures and minimal lighting. What I hope, though, is that the grittiness of the film conveys on some level just how eerie it can get out there - even in the middle of civilization.

I was fortunate enough to work on the music for this film with Andrew Clayton, a friend of mine whose experience with music and instruments greatly exceeds mine. He provided the eerie guitar strumming and other background noises that accompanied the ghostly synthesizer music I composed in GarageBand. Together, we formed a piece that I hope will creep out every viewer and cause them to watch their back just a bit more from now on...

Overall, I'm immensely proud of this film. It was originally created for a film production class at my college, but I decided to take it further and pour my heart into a short piece that I could share with the world. I hope it frightens you. I hope you enjoy it.