Give Me Something Good (dir. Clay Moffatt)

By: Adam Freed

There is nothing wrong with ambling down a well-trodden path so long as the journey leads to a memorable destination.  The challenge that writer and director Clay Moffatt faces with his independent horror comedy Give Me Something Good, is that despite a few intriguing twists along the way, the short film covers very little new ground.  2026 has become a banner year for modestly budgeted feature length films that have broken new genre ground and ruptured box office expectations.  Obsession and Backrooms alone have inspired a new generation of filmmakers and fans to unearth the thematic and cinematic beauty found within the macabre.  This recent boom carries with it though a dark underbelly, the aftershock of raised audience expectations.

Give Me Something Good follows Lucy (Samantha Santillanes), an overly stressed student desperately in need of a break from studying to pursue her social life.  That opportunity comes in the form of her carefree friend Selena (Melissa Rokuskie), who generates the idea to throw a Halloween party. Santillanes and Rokuskie conjure a realistic friendship dynamic within their performances that make Lucy’s introversion a playground for Selena’s social ambition.  While Selena’s carefree stance on life beyond school is believable, the way in which her self-serving predilections become increasingly apparent speaks to the quality of performance offered by Melissa Rokuskie (Talking Stage, A Modern Guide to Dating).  Outside of its two primary female leads however, Give Me Something Good runs into a believability issue regarding the ages of most of its cast.  There are young characters being played by actors nowhere near in appearance the ages of the characters they are attempting to portray.  This choice, in combination with some noticeably strained dialogue, tests one’s willingness to embark on the supernatural journey Clay Moffatt asks of his audience.  That journey, brought on by a chance encounter with a Ouija board will likely stoke feelings of deja vu in audiences familiar with the genre.

Despite some convincing practical makeup work, a great deal of the production surrounding the central conflict within Give Me Something Good strains credulity even within a genre deeply rooted in the world of fiction.  Moffatt makes numerous attempts at interesting frame construction as the blood-soaked events of his short ensue, but nothing break through until the film’s final shot, a stationary wide angle depicting predictable events on a Halloween night, with the haunting addition of the film’s concerning resolution.  In this shot, Clay Moffatt allows his audience to marinate in stakes of his film’s climactic result, one that makes surviving many of the low points of Give Me Something Good feel close to worthwhile.

Target Score 3.5/10 - The title of Clay Moffatt’s Halloween-themed horror comedy Give Me Something Good, proves unfortunate as it will likely be echoed by audiences who brave the short film this fall.  Despite a pair of convincing performances from Samantha Santillanes and Melissa Rokuskie, there just isn’t enough new ground covered to warrant recommendation.