My criticism of modern horror is the lack of original thought that pervades the genre. The monopolization of the media market has generalized the genre so much that it has replaced the genuine suspense that characterizes good horror, replacing it with cheap jump scares and endless gore, making the prospects of going to the movies to watch a genuinely high-quality horror film unlikely to win over fans of the genre.

Although new horror is lacking in quality, YouTube films don’t fit this and are an excellent alternative. One of these, a short film called Milk Teeth, manages to invoke feelings of disturbance, disgust, and fear at the same time.

The rest of this review contains a few small movie spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

The film lasts almost 14 minutes. The first scene is of a young boy named Thomas, revealed to be in an orphanage, using a piece of floss to take out a baby tooth that falls down the drain. A monster, a grotesque version of the tooth fairy, calls out to the boy from the drain in the voice of a woman. She offers money in exchange for the children’s teeth. The film slowly, but gradually, shows a devolving situation that becomes more disturbing over time, something that few horror films evoke.

Children across the orphanage descend into taking all their teeth out to get money, causing the first boy to lose all of his teeth. Not only is the film horror, but it evokes fear in normal situations, which I find unique. Thomas is repeatedly lined up throughout the day with other children to get picked up by adoptive parents, and he is repeatedly rejected. Eventually, he is chosen by a couple; however, when they see his teeth, they are repulsed by him.

This film, although short, managed to evoke immense sympathy towards the main character, being able to hold a plot amid the horror instead of being overwhelmed by it.

Similarly, the fact that children would feel compelled to cut their teeth out in exchange for money might ultimately be more disturbing than the horror itself. The orphanage is more tangibly despicable than the monster itself, in that they are making children pay money for basic hygiene. This video evoked feelings of disgust with this system in a way that almost distracted me from being scared by the evil lurking in the sink.

In the end, this film was a rollercoaster of different emotions, going from disgust to horror, and somehow to societal commentary, and for this reason, I highly enjoyed this film. For a film of less than 15 minutes, I think this is impressive. I would rate it a 10/10.