QUIET ON SET. Check the Locks, a short horror film by former local Eric Larson, has been making the festival rounds. (Submitted photo)

This psychological horror short film by Eric Larson, will have you double-checking your doors by the end credits. Former local and UW-Eau Claire alum Eric Larson is gearing up for his Oct. 22 Midwest premiere of Check the Locks at the Nightmare Film Festival in Columbus, Ohio. 

In 2020, Larson developed a nervous tic taking pictures of his stove before he left home so he could assure himself that it was turned off and his home was safe. “What would happen if the opposite happened?” asks Larson. “What if I opened up the picture on my phone and the stove was engulfed in flames?” 

This short film plays on that concept with locked doors, where the main character takes pictures of locked doors for her own sanity. What would happen if she opened her phone’s camera roll, and found the door wasn’t locked?

Larson lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has been working on this idea for more than a year and a half. Early in his career, he was a feature writer who started to experiment with video pieces for articles and redeveloped an interest in film. After working in the advertising industry for four years and getting acquainted with other directors, he became interested in writing and directing his own creative projects. He then decided to act as not only writer and director, but producer and editor on his own project as well.

“It was the most difficult but most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” Larson said. He has his entire crew and lead actress Angela Wong Carbone (featured on Doublespeak and Chicago Med) to thank for the resulting film, he said, as all facets of the team have contributed thoughts on how to approach the story and filmmaking process. The film is all about atmosphere and the character’s emotions, all of which are themes and ideas that truly flourish in the 15-minute psychological roller coaster.

Larson admits it has been pretty cool to see all the positive reception of the short film. Check the Locks has been receiving multiple awards from festivals, such as the Winner of the New York Film Awards, the Platinum Award for Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles, and the Official Selection for Ohio’s Nightmare Film Festival.

For more information on the film go to checkthelocksfilm.com.