For those who weren’t there for the olden days of beginner internet, “ASL” refers to a question often asked over AIM chat: “Age, Sex, Location.” For those too young to know who Chris Hansen is, just know that’s not a very good question for an adult to be asking a child over the internet.. or at all. Doug, our main character in Ben Swicker’s A/S/L learns that lesson in this Goodale Horror short.
A married man gets invited to a young teenage girl’s house over AIM and things aren’t as they seem.
A/S/L, IMDB
Doug knows better: having a job, a good home, and a wife and kids. After a short-lived moral moment, he continues to chat online with “Annie,” a 13-year old girl who quickly invites him over to her house. At Annie’s house, it gets weird real quick. Weird, then deadly — multiple young girls make their presence known and begin to assault Doug with weapons. It turns out that they had some pretty monstrous ulterior motives.
I’m all for predators getting what they deserve. A/S/L delivers completely. We start off with some really gross stuff involving child predation. Then the short transfers the role of predator from Doug to the girls. With sharp teeth and no mercy, the girls are joined by a mother figure as they tear Doug apart. The room turns blood red.
A/S/L was short and sweet, unlike this unsavory situation. But knowing that it has a good ending — one that is not only justified but also shows some cool effects — makes it all the better. The premise is simple but offers so much more than these few minutes can give us; it makes me want to know how their whole operation came to be, and how they got to this point at all. We’re all left to wonder what his family will think when he turns up missing.
ASL and other shorts can be found on www.goodalehorror.com. Be sure to give them a follow on Instagram as well!
