Don’t Panic: Pauly Shore’s Viral Video Short Starring Spooky Doug Jones as a Monster is a Click Away
Finally, we can tell you about a spine-tingling new movie with a cool cast that is perfect for spooky season that is 1) available to watch now, and 2) costs nothing to watch. It’s a Halloween miracle!
That movie called Remain Calm, and stars Pauly Shore, Nick Swardson and horror legend Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth, et al) as a man whose smile does the opposite of lighting up a room. Of course, the film is just a short, but word on the street is that the story is being shopped around for someone to develop it into a full-length feature film. Hey, it worked for Kane Parsons and The Backrooms, so there’s a better than average chance that one day you will have to pay to see Remain Calm in expanded form in theaters.
In Remain Calm, Shore and Swardson play Erwin and Matt, gas station clerks whose deadly dull night shift suddenly gets more interesting when they’re warned by a man with a terrifying grin to look out for a creature called Mr. Frett, which hunts people showing signs of stress, anxiety, or panic. Their survival depends on staying calm, which is nearly impossible given the abject horror this thing inspires when it finally shows up.
Image courtesy The Lewis Brothers.
Remain calm comes from director Jake Lewis, who co-wrote the script with his brother Sam. Jenna Socha edited the film, which features special effects by Gorgazma and visual effects by FNT Productions.
The short film has already attracted over 6.4 million views. According to the Lewises, “In A Quiet Place, the one rule is: you make a noise, you die. In Remain Calm, the one rule is; you feel anxious, you die. Our monster, Mr. Frett (Kevin Keppy), can only see its prey when they’re filled with anxiety. So, in an increasingly anxious world, how do our heroes stay calm when their lives literally depend on it?”
Jake Lewis and Shore have worked together before, on another short called The Court Jester, where Shore played fitness guru Richard Simmons. It also went viral, with over a million views on the first day of its release.
Shore, talking with People magazine, praised the filmmakers. “I’m so thrilled by the response of this short that we did with Jake and Sam Lewis, Nick and Doug. I love that people are digging it. And happy Halloween!”
You can watch Remain Calm by clicking the link at the top of the page.
