Horror Short Showcase: ‘Sophie’s Turn’

Written by Scott Edwards

​The feeling of acceptance is something that many of us need, but at what price? Growing up we might have joined different clubs or a sports team, but when we got older, we came to find that these things simply went away. Needing to find a fun group to hang out with if you are no longer with your childhood friends can be difficult, but not impossible. Just keep your eyes open at work and on your friend’s lists on social media, as there are all kinds of events that happen with people that share your interests and they might be looking for someone else to hang out with.
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Getting driven out to the middle of the woods, Sophie is ready to take her final step in becoming a member of the group. With plenty of booze in her system, she listens to her new friends Michelle and Katie read the words from their old book to fully become a member of Satan’s club. Only needing to sit in the middle of a pentagram and sacrifice a piece of herself to the new lord, Sophie is frightened, yet willing. Arriving in the circle, Sophie hears strange sounds in the surrounding woods, but it is not enough to frighten her away from the task at hand and she cuts her hand and allows the blood to drop on the unholy ground.

Rising off of the ground, Sophie starts to make her way back to the car when she sees the lights go out. Hearing someone else around her, Sophie is grabbed and dragged back into the depths of the woods. Listening to their new friend screaming for her life, the members have no idea what is happening to their new initiate. Turning the car lights back on, Michelle and Katie are ready to welcome their new friend back with open arms, but Sophie has something different on her mind. With the ritual fully taking effect on her mind and body, Sophie is ready to make her presence known once and for all.

With plenty of things that go bump in the night, I like how this film utilized the sounds of the forest to make things creepier. Although you do not get to know exactly what group Michelle and Katie really belong to, it seems to be a witch coven of some sort, I am more upset that they don’t know the power that their book can unleash if someone follows through with the ritual. I felt bad for Sophie after she is taken by the forest where evil forest things are done to her, but her transformation into her new self was pretty freaking epic. If you are ever thinking about doing witchcraft, this short confirms it, if you don’t know what you are doing, don’t do it or suffer the consequences. Stay Scared.

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