Loveless is a short horror film inspired by the murder of Shanda Sharer by Melissa Loveless; a horrific tale about a love triangle that ended in real-life tragedy. The film is written, directed, and edited by Zach Lorkiewicz and stars Brittany Lewis, Lauren Elyse Buckley, Sarah O’Connor, Anastasia Katarina, and Sarah J Bartholomew. This indie short film was recently released by Count the Clock Productions and is available for free to watch on YouTube.
Lorkiewicz had the following to say about the film:
Loveless is a story loosely inspired by the real-life murderer Melinda Loveless. It follows a group of teenage girls exploring the supposedly haunted Middleton Manor. Loveless is also the last entry in the Middleton High universe (for the time being), and will be featured in the horror anthology Tales from Middleton High.
Now, this is indie in every sense of the word with most of the film shot through what appears to be a smartphone camera. It has a very found footage POV and has very little in the way of special effects, not counting the glitching and similar quirky edits. It is jumpy and hard to follow at times and the practical effects and makeup are also on a budget, though I feel they did a good enough job with the creature makeup by giving it something of a silent hill vibe.
While based on an actual murder, this is a fictional tale involving paranormal events at the end of the film. I will admit that Loveless makes a lot more sense if you know the story that it is based on, which I went and read up on after watching the short. It put everything into a much better perspective and I suggest that if you aren’t familiar with the case to read up a bit on it before viewing the short film.
As far as the acting and such go, I found the performances pretty decent and the film well-paced and gripping from start to end. This is—however—a very low-budget horror and what you get is obviously par for the course. Regardless, it is well made with heartfelt performances and a decent plot that has some unexpected twists if you don’t know the backstory. Give it a watch and learn some actual horror history today. Thanks for reading and as always, stay sordid. The artwork and link to the film are below.
Also, you can see our reviews of Lorkiewicz’s other films and their links here: The Knock & The Ghost House
