A truly great parody is the one that doesn’t require the audience to be familiar with any particular thing that it’s mocking. It’s why Airplane! remains one of the greatest comedies of all time, why the original Scream‘s self-awareness has endured so well and why the Wayans’ Scary Movie series is such utterly forgettable tripe. Thankfully Richard Gale took that lesson to heart. Seven years after its release, his horror pastiche The Horribly Slow Murder with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon has become a viral sensation with over 31 million views on YouTube.

The Horribly Slow Murder takes a premise that sounds like it wouldn’t make it past an elevator pitch and spins it into 10 minutes of pure gold. It has all of the elements that you’ve seen in a horror movie before – an ancient occult angle, elements of body horror and mind-tricks, an indestructible and relentless monster – but gives them a brand new twist with a murder weapon that nobody has ever thought to use before.

What elevates The Horribly Slow Murder beyond other lesser horror parodies is the seriousness which Chaotic Rampage American Pictures affords their material. Paul Clemens’ tortured protagonist never turns and winks to the camera; the gore looks impressive for such a tiny budget, and Christopher Brady’s score is genuinely creepy. Even Brian Rohan’s murderer somehow seems more unsettling as the short goes on. And the most obvious question sceptics are bound to ask – why not take the murder weapon away? – is answered in a pitch perfect punchline that will send shivers down your spine and split your sides in two.

And if you’re wondering where you can see the rest of the story, we have good news – thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign late last year, Richard Gale is currently producing a full, feature-length version of The Horribly Slow Murder with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon. Will you dare to watch the whole terrifying ordeal? We certainly will.

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INFORMATION

CAST: Paul Clemens, Brian Rohan, Fay Kato, Melissa Paladino, Mike Kacey, Richard Gale

DIRECTOR: Richard Gale

WRITER: Richard Gale

MUSIC: Christopher Brady

MAKE-UP EFFECTS: Dean Jones and Paul Clemens

SYNOPSIS: The epic story of one man’s encounter with the most relentless murderer of all time.