Why Watch? Three friends decide to go camping near a lake, and yeah, yeah, yeah. If this short from Ben Franklin sounds predictable, simply know that it’s not. It’s a fantastic horror short film that uses standard conventions in order to subvert them. So, sure, there’s the horny couple checking their watches until they can shake the tent, there’s the goofy friend who is obsessed with blasting fireworks, and there’s the bloodied horror that finds them in the woods. But Dead Man’s Lake is the kind of short that entertains before it pulls the damned rug out from under you. The result is something devastating and terrifying in a far more fundamental way than your average slasher re-hash. It’s not wink-and-nod like Cabin in the Woods, but it knows its horror and sidesteps every cliche in order to build something that punches you right in the chest. What will it cost you? Only 9 minutes. Skip work. Watch more short films.