You have to admire the kind of audacity that it takes to make a near-perfect slasher pastiche and then set it in a world where every single person is a clown except for the mime hero.

It shouldn’t work but it does. It wonderfully and absolutely does.

Liam Wals has only made four short films, but you can see that this movie would stand alone as a full-length movie. It just works on every level, from the exciting energy of a slasher to the comedic play at the genre’s conventions to, well, the fact that yes, everyone is a clown. And the closing battle — in which the mime uses his pantomine skills to battle the killer — must be experienced.

Here’s how I know a short works: when I feel like I needed more at the close. I want so much more of the world of this picture and I want more films by Wals and the writer of this short, Micah Fusco.

By all rights, this should be a silly Troma or Full Moon affair. And yet it transcends.

You Missed a Spot is now playing Salem Horror Fest. When we have streaming info, we’ll share it in this post. For now, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several other films during October. You can learn more on the official site for the movie.