Synopsis:
That hanging piece of skin. That painful chunk of tissue that won’t let go. You rip and tear at it but the inflamed hunk of flesh holds on. For Elisabeth this normal nuisance turns into a living nightmare…
While many of us are stuck in what seems like an endless quarantine, permanent unpaid vacation, or waking nightmare that is 2020, others have been trying to keep themselves from going stir-crazy by doing what they do best—creating art. Colin MacDonald is an award-winning filmmaker who has been honing his creative talents in the screen industry for over ten years. That experience and creative drive have led to the birth of a lockdown short film, Hangnail.
We’ve all been there at some point; clawing away at a scab that you know is not ready to be plucked, chewing way too far into that fingernail, or simply just pulling and peeling away at your hyponychium (That’s the skin by the moon of the fingernail…you just learned something today…you’re welcome.). There’s that numbing pain that is both pleasant and torturous, increasingly excruciating yet simultaneously satisfying. You know you’re going to regret it later yet you chew on, drinking whatever chemicals your brain is pouring your way. Hangnail is this moment in visual hyperbole, a body horror short saturated with blood and bone.
Director Colin MacDonald had this to say about the short:
I can’t recall the original inspiration for Hangnail, it was one of those simple concepts that popped in my head while in the shower and the bloody idea wouldn’t go away. Through years of film making it was always a simple idea that stuck around, but with the free time of a global pandemic it felt like the perfect time to rip it off. The film was produced by Nicole Barron and I over the course of one night. Post-production lasted about a week and everything came together perfectly when Jerry Smith came on board to compose the original music for Hangnail.
Rather than waiting to go through the usual festivals and delays, MacDonald has decided to share his latest creation with you, dear reader, so that you can be grossed out, disgusted, and perhaps even a little physically ill. Don’t thank me, thank him. Catch the short film and poster below. Thanks for reading and as always, stay sordid.
