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Goodnight Sweetheart

Horror Short // 2024  // Austria

Director

Kathrin Told Production

Battitude Arts
FH Salzburg


Max wants to surprise his brother Christian with an unforgettable night for his 18th birthday. But the night with the two escort ladies goes horribly wrong - and ends with a vicious awakening.


Title intro
Poster
Animated production logo
Prop design



“Goodnight Sweetheart,
well, it’s time to go!”
Goodnight Sweetheart explores the socially ignored perspective of female abuse. It tells the story of a young man who carries an inexplicable fear of women due to his childhood trauma. The short film portrays the psychological burden on a young man who has never dealt with his painful past and becomes the monster he had to create in his desperate situation. The film raises the question of how we should deal with sexual trauma and criticizes society‘s tendency to overlook and be complicit in such matters.

The title sequence begins in the coldly lit children's room of young Christian, but suddenly the audience finds itself in a completely alien reality. Neon-like scribbles glow from brightly coloured walls and we move through a labyrinth of horror, suddenly shrunk to the size of rats. Some may recognise some of the objects later in the film. The comic-like style conveys a childlike setting, which appears ghostly due to the unnatural colours. At the heart of the labyrinth: Christian's children's room in miniature - or has the little boy's wooden box on his nightstand simply grown to life-size?




The poster makes no attempt to hide the identity of the "monster" introduced early in the film. A giant plague doctor holding a stuffed animal with its ear torn off in his fist looks down at a wooden jack-in-the-box containing a miniature version of young Christian's bedroom.

In keeping with the genre, the colour scheme and aesthetics are based on those of horror films from the 80s. Flashy colours and a trashy look are therefore downright desirable.
Film poster for Goodnight Sweetheart



A special version of the Battitude Arts production logo was also created to fit the character of the film and emphasise the meaning behind it.

The TV aesthetic is based on a trauma therapy method called Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), a form of psychotherapy designed to reduce the distress associated with traumatic memories. One of the techniques used in EMDR is for the patient to visualise their traumatic experience on an 'inner TV screen', which allows them to confront and process these memories in a controlled and safe environment. The metaphor is a way of helping patients to distance themselves somewhat from their trauma, enabling them to view it more objectively and with less immediate emotional overwhelm.



Approach



Evolution of the title intro


Earlier explorations of the poster
Painting process of the final poster


Evolution of the Battitude Arts production logo



Prop design for the Jack-in-the-box
Final look of the box


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