The harrowing tale of an adolescent prank gone terribly wrong, Jared Hogan’s unsettling short, How To Make A Ghost, vividly illustrates how swiftly life can veer into chaos when circumstances take an unexpected turn. This eerie and disquieting narrative serves as a stark reminder that some of the most profound horrors are rooted in reality, as Hogan expertly delves into our primal fears, crafting a suffocating short film that lingers in your thoughts and refuses to relinquish its grip long after that final frame.

Opening with home-footage of what appears to be a young boy getting in the mood for Halloween, after a couple of brief titles screens How To Make A Ghost transports its audience to the forecourt of a gas station as we join a group of bored teenagers on Halloween night. Initially discussing a horror movie they plan on watching later that evening, thoughts quickly turn to pranks, with one boy daring his friends to climb into the back of a car and “scare the shit” out of the owner when he returns from paying for fuel.

As already alluded to in the opening paragraph, this particular dare ends in disaster, but from the short’s dark aesthetic and simmering tension that particular “twist” felt inevitable. It’s what happens after that truly unsettles the viewers. With Hogan allowing a certainly level of ambiguity, especially regarding the character traits of this “pranked” driver, as his narrative unravels you start to question the decisions, and morals, of all involved.

In a 2019 interview I conducted with Hogan for Directors Notes, the filmmaker discussed his intentions behind creating the short film Pray for the Children, expressing a desire to make the audience “feel uncomfortable” and provoke them to “imagine how it would feel to have someone inside your mind, seeing your darkest thoughts.” The objectives for How To Make A Ghost seem aligned, as despite the narrative’s twisted nature, there’s an unshakable relatability here where you place yourself in the shoes of his characters.

What would you do if you found yourself in those situations? As an adult, you recognize the foolish and perilous nature of the prank, yet you can empathize with how a child might unwittingly find themselves in that predicament. And what about the driver? How would you react in such a situation, fear coursing through your veins? His post-incident response might offer insight into the kind of person he is, but it’s also understandable how those specific circumstances escalated beyond control.

While Hogan leaves his storytelling open-ended, his audience plagued by the questions his narratives leaves unanswered, the aim of his filmmaking here is much clearer. From the deceptively simple framing of of Dustin Lane’s cinematography, to the atmospheric grade of Jacob McKee and the ominous score of Michael A. Muller, the production seems to be all working together to create an overwhelming sense of dread. We talk about films leaving you uncomfortable, but with How To Make A Ghost (and the aforementioned Pray for the Children) Hogan achieves something more guttural, his filmmaking evoking a sense of unease that radiates from the pit of your stomach. That might not be a feeling that everyone will appreciate, but it’s a response that it’s impossible to ignore.

A regular on Vimeo, with a number of Staff Picked shorts and music videos, if you enjoyed How To Make A Ghost be sure to check out more of his work on the link below.