Chelsea Lupkin
Opening on a seamstress in her home as she explores her femininity through the clothes she sews, initially, nothing on the surface of Katelyn Douglass’ Spanked by a Ghost seems too out of the ordinary. And yet, from the first few frames, we become voyeurs to something much more sensual and private. A quiet tension begins to build when suddenly she’s… spanked?
Rather than setting off alarm bells, Douglass transforms our fears into something too flirtatious to be simply labelled horror, subverting all expectations of the genre. “Everyone knows what happens when you discover your house is haunted by a dangerous, scary entity. What happens when it’s haunted by something you want to keep around?” Douglass asks of her audience.
When an opportunity arises to take a supernatural leap into the unknown world of ghosts and a newfound sexual preference, Douglass playfully allows us to remain in the fly-on-the-wall perspective. There’s something incredibly freeing about watching two entities – living and dead – play out a fantasy together without the feeling of judgemental eyes. Frankly, I was rooting for them, even when my first thought was “Girl, put the Ouija board away!”
Lindsy Li in her first acting role in Spanked by a Ghost
Produced by a group of four friends in Chicago, Douglass proves you don’t need much to shoot a compelling short film. Between the haunting and provocative cinematography by Drew Angle and cleverly placed production design by Kaylyn Carter, the cinematic world feels incredibly full of life, even if none is present. Filmed in Douglass’ own home, she cast her close friend Lindsy Li in what would, surprisingly, be her first acting role.
Playing on classic tropes and using a few well-timed practical effects, Spanked by a Ghost was a surprise festival hit. It played at Fantastic Fest, Beyond Fest, Overlook Film Festival, Rooftop Films and Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, among others, making it a film you won’t soon forget.
Douglass is currently in post-production on her new short film SUCKER, which will premiere on Tubi this Halloween season as part of their Bite Sized Terror series with WorthenBrooks.