The Kid and the Camera - A Short Horror Film 

Absolutely amazing. Needs more views. I loved every second. I was so distracted by how cute and innocent it looked that I forgot it was a horror film. making the horror aspects that much stronger.

A small detail I love is that when the killer used the sleep fairy disguise/puppet thing, it said that they knew the kid’s name and that they haven’t been sleeping. Meaning that they had been stalking them for awhile which is just scary as hell to me.

The scariest part for me is that the narrator never confirms Cailen is dead. He could've survived the loss of his feet, and is still held by the stalker, somewhere out there where the police will never find him.

What makes this even creepier is that the man knows Caleb’s name, this suggests he knows Caleb’s family, which, if you know how common it is for child predators to be someone who knows the victim, adds another layer of realism

A detail I didn't notice until my 10th viewing is at 4:49 the kid hears rustling in the nearby forest after the Kipsneed beckons him, almost like he was being followed at the same time, which would imply that this isn't a single predatory man but a group of predators which as a thought is terrifying

The subtle shift in the narrator's voice as the boy goes into the house gave me chills. It's a small detail but it's perfect

One of my biggest paranoid fears is looking out my window at night and seeing someone there. The introduction of the fairy unsettled me a lot

The fact that it seamlessly shifts from an innocent bedtime story to a taping of a child abduction case where only the boy's feet could be found gives me chills. I can only dread to imagine what became of him and his parents...

I haven't seen anyone talk about the fact that when the Sleep Fairy is talking, his antennae looks unnervingly similar to human eyes. You can see it best at 2:48 and it's probably not meant to be like that, but when I saw it I had a chill cause it felt like there was an actual adult person puppeteering the Sleep Fairy, creepily watching Caleb as he lures him into his eventual demise

the fact that the perpetrator is a human and not a cartoonish monster like I was expecting, is much more disturbing and scary because it’s realistic. this sort of stuff unfortunately happens on a daily…

I love this because they never resorted to a cheap jump scare, instead they let it sit until they could hit you with the final scare of just the realization of what happened

One of the scariest parts is that the “fairy” knows everything about all of Caleb’s friends. Even if he really doesn’t, it still implies Caleb isn’t the only child he’s seen/approached.

3:10 its brief but that impatient IDGAF look on the cipsneed's face honestly disturbs me because as it looks like he's lowkey losing his patience because he wants to kill this kid already and thats honestly where the horror in this starts.

the fact that you can actually hear Caleb's soft little gasp right before the picture of the man appears is what really gets me... this poor sweet boy just wanted his camera fixed...

Small detail but I love how the "tiny toe" logo disappears at 5:20. It takes away that level of immersion in believing that this is a real kids TV show, and replaces it with the feeling of viewing a slideshow of found crime footage. The innocence has been lost. The boy is far past the point of return.

Haven't seen it commented yet but 2:43 really messed with me. When the kipsneed first arrives he remains fully outside the window but as he talks to Cailen he gets more comfortable and begins gesturing and reaching inside the window. But at this particular moment it feels like a boundary really got violated and the largeness of his "hand" also becomes evident. It also appears to have a very slight motion blur to it as if it was quite a rapid, almost violent gesture. Fantastic attention to detail!

that short moment at 3:18, where he lifts his eyes up towards the boy after seeing his predicament firsthand.. you can tell in that short moment he knew exactly how he was going to lure the kid in what an amazing video!

6:14 The look of realization in Cailen’s face after hearing a *Human* foot coming towards him knowing that he is *not* alone and probably it wasn’t Sleepfairy makes this scene even more terrifying .

If you think about it, it’s sort of like a PSA warning children against the dangers of strangers

The part at 5:42 is so utterly terrifying just Cipsneed reaching his arms towards Caleb when walking downstairs to the basement and yet the music starts to get intense.

For Caylenn, imagine how scared he must’ve been inside the basement of an abandoned house, in the middle of a forest in the middle of the night all alone and defenceless with his parents having no idea that he even left the house. Imagine the fear he felt, I feel so bad for the poor kid

I'd like to imagine the narrator is actually the murderer and he's just recounting the tale like it's some story to himself for an extra level of spook.

Man the Kipsneed’s design is the perfect mix of cute and horrifying. Deeply uncanny but kinda endearing at angles.

At 4:40 you can here how the sleep fairy stopped being all happy and nice and jolly and stopped playing his role as his voice became more drab knowing he had sealed the deal

Somehow the completely clean, bloodless cuts on the ankles makes it all the more eerie.

I like that they didn't use a creepy creature for when the boy saw his kidnapper, just a regular man, like in reality. This shows that the intentions of this short-film are to show the reality of things, magnificent.

"Hello there, young lad!" greeted the creature, "I'm the Kipsneed! I'm your sleep fair-" It never got to finish as Caleb promptly smashed his fist into the creature's smiling yellow maw and shattered every bone. Still reeling from the impact, the creature staggered backwards, right off the roof it had been standing on. It crashed into the rough gravel driveway below with a thunderous thud. Nothing but silence followed. Having stopped screaming but with his chest still heaving, a trembling Caleb peeked down out from the rustling curtains of his open bedroom window down at the fairy's body lying limp below. A crimson pool of blood circled outwards from its oblong skull and soaked into his mother's prized begonias. In the waxy spotlight of the moon, Caleb was finally able to see the jagged outline of a knife and a thick roll of duct tape that the creature had tucked into both its colorful felt wings. On seeing it absolutely still, Caleb returned to his bed and settled in for a long and satisfied sleep. He didn't need a camera to preserve this particular image.

5:38 you can't tell me that mofo wasn't throwing gang signs

i love the cipsneed’s design, it’s uncanny and freaky enough to be scary yet brightly colored and expressive enough to resemble a children’s mascot that was genuinely intended to be endearing

I think a really subtle clue into the true nature of the puppet, is when the kid mentions his camera and cries, for a quick second the puppets eyes aren't looking at him, they're looking almost at us. I think this is showing us the moment the man let the puppet go limp in order to listen more closely. Edit: Holy Moly thanks for 2.5K likes 😁

phenomenal cartoon, no jumpscares, no screamers, it's all buildup with perfect payoff and amazing visuals

There's something so sad about the fact that Caleb probably followed the Kipsneed because he thought he would get in trouble if he told his parents that he broke his camera. Feels way too real, too close to how little kids think and how predators take advantage of little kid logic

Since everyone else is doing it, here’s a handful of interesting details I wanted to point out: 1. The narrator (Fantastic job, Richard Stibbard!) has the perfect tone and diction for this kind of story: calm, rich timbre, and the accent has a nice touch of “friendly uncle” to it. (I personally thought Richard was from Northern England because of the accent, but turns out he’s from Cheltenham, near Gloucester!) 2. The abductor was either quiet enough to put Caleb at ease or Caleb was distraught and/or tired enough to not ask too many questions. 3. Caleb’s parents are RIDICULOUSLY deep sleepers, since he clearly went out the front door in order to follow the “Kipsneed” and probably closed it shut, too. 4. Not counting the abductor’s body shot towards the end, we never really see any other PHYSICAL characters, apart from Caleb and the Kipsneed, thus ensuring the vacuum effect that most analog horror seems to work best with: it’s just you and the monster, no one else is there to help or aide you… 5. Something about the lighting effects and the texture of the modeling clay used for Caleb and the Kipsneed really work well together to convey a visual sense of unease with how smooth and shiny everything looks at times, especially since much of the short takes place at night. 6. Caleb’s age is probably one of the most important and telling details in regards to the story’s shock factor: an older child, or one more aware of how the world works, would’ve known something was up at a certain point, and maybe even attempt to escape or fight back. But of course, a six-year-old wouldn’t know such things outside of maybe not talking to strangers. That’s probably how the abductor was able to deceive Caleb so well and trick him into following him. And because someone so young would naturally be enticed by a colorful toy-like creature, it worked out TOO well to the abductor’s advantage…. PHENOMENAL job and massive kudos to Brandon and Richard for their work here!

This would make a great PSA to show young kids and maybe even older children to not trust strangers that claim to know them

The way the narrator said “the rest of the boy was never found.” absolutely sent shivers down my spine. Amazing job

"the rest of the boy was never found" gives me so much chills😭

I like to think this narrator was taken by surprise how this story ends. It does start as a kids story, but the predator intercepts it twisting the narrative. The typical fairy tale would’ve had the boy go on a magical adventure, make loads of friends then achieve his mission. Instead, this tale becomes a predators story. His twisted, broken mind took advantage of the fairy tales to lure this kid out, breaking a pattern and sabotaging the innocence of this sweet boys life. You can see the message this wanted to send, and it was effective. Never have I seen the term “stranger danger!” Taken so seriously and portrayed so well. Sensational work 👌

I love how weird and uncanny the sleep fairy itself looks. Gives a creepy atmosphere even when it's not doing anything bad. This is really impressive

3:15 this part right here, the way his eyes dart back at the kid without him saying anything, showing subtle signs he didn't have good intentions just shows how much work you put in, fantastic job, also that photo of the kids need in the basement, jeez that's terrifying yet so simple

the one time the cameraman actually dies.

4:44 his voice is so soft its terrifying

I think one of the most chilling details about the Cipsneed is that his eyes are on the front of his face, not the sides. That wouldn’t be much of a problem in any other context, but combined with his large mouth (and what eventually happens), it screams “predator.” For me, this makes each and every scene he’s in so unnerving. Well done!

I think it’s worth mentioning that caleb was so upset and nervous about his camera being broken. When you make your kid too scared to tell you they’ve done something ‘bad’ or sharing stuff with you you make them more vulnerable.

The storytelling through using just the pictures taken in the kids camera at the end is just perfect. I applaud whoever made this masterpiece

Not gonna lie, this would make a KILLER anthology series. A new child in every story, still enveloped by youthful innocence, falls victim to some real-world threat (human or otherwise), and each serves as a chilling reminder of the dangers. Damn...

I got so invested in this, and I genuinely felt so hurt for Caleb when the last screen showed. The scariest thing is how real the scenario is and that this exact type of thing can and has happened in real life.

One detail i love is how every photo before the camera breaks is perfectly fine, and they only become distorted after the camera breaks. Meanwhile the last photo is not only completely fine, but in a different aspect ratio and quality, as it was not taken by Caleb, but by the police. Its details like this that i live for, and you hit it out of the park with this one.

My favorite details came at the end. When we finally see the abandoned house at 4:25, and the narrator's voice becomes slowed and morose, before it finally stops altogether when he enters the house, allowing the camera clicks and photos to carry it along. The slight build up of that high pitched ambiance. It's all so well made but those were the parts that really impressed me.

2:47 3:19 the fact you can see the kidnappers eyes behind the kipsneed… the foreshadowing to the end is so little but when you go back you can see it so clearly. this is fantastic work

Remember children. no matter what they say, if they proclaim to know you and your parents but you DON’T KNOW THEM: tell your parents as soon as possible! You could end up like poor camera kid here! GREAT use of photography and stop motion by the way! (I know it was made with blender, but it was VERY convincing!)

I kept wondering why the puppet looked so lifeless in the photo sequence towards the end. I realized it’s because we first see the Cipsneed through the eyes of Caleb, later on we see it for what it truly was. Amazing film, I felt unease throughout the entire 8 min,

Whoever made this had a great knowledge of what 70's UK kids tv was like. The music, the narration and the stop motion effect is all absolutely spot on!

What I appreciate is how the "fairy" does actually has a "kid friendly" design on paper, yet there's something uncanny about it as well

I love how at around 5:20 the tiny tots logo disappears, and the narrator turns into more a a documentary style narrator instead of a storybook/kids tv one. And the imagery becomes realistic. It slowly turns into a true crime doc.

This is the truest form of horror. No cheap jumpscares, no heavily edited and horrific imagery, no loud noises, not even any blood. Its completely reality based, the innocence and ignorance of a child being taken advantage of by a creep. I had an overwhelming sense of dread the entire time, and the last picture Callen took left a bigger impact of terror on me than any jumpscare ever could. Overall, just an absolutely stunning video, and also a great message. The term “stranger danger” can NEVER be emphasized enough

Kipsneed is really skirting that line between creepy and innocent looking. He's colorful and playful looking, like a character from a preschool show, but hes got forward-facing eyes like a predator, and there are tiny hints to his true nature sprinkled onto his conversation with the boy.

I’m sorry about the whole youtube kids BS, this was genuinely one of the first short horror films in a long while that’s scared me not because of a cheap jumpscare due to actual horror and suspense thanks to the visuals and sound design

I was watching this with anticipation, expecting it to be a paranormal horror. What it actually was was much scarier.

That creature that shows up outside the kids window is ACTUALLY the scariest thing I've ever seen and I couldn't for the life of me tell you why- Kudos man this is amazing

I hate how the sleep fairy looks so much like the dolphin man its so weird and a spookie dookie at the same time

I saw clips of this on a review video about analogue horror. This reminded me of the scariest night of my life. One night when I was a kid, I had a weird dream I was in Venice and my hotel room were full of artwork and motifs of the Gorgon, Medusa. All of a sudden, I was woken up by a female voice shouting out for help. It was coming from the other side of the eastern wall of my room, and there was nothing on the other side, just the sheer vertical outside wall, and my bedroom was upstairs. There was no way anybody could've climbed up to that spot. I wanted to ignore it, so I turned on my TV, which was right next to my window. The problem with that was, this happened before flatscreens existed, it was a cathode ray tube TV, and it made a loud noise when I turned it on. Whoever or whatever was shouting for help heard it and came to my window and started knocking. It was a good thing my roller blind was down. Part of me wanted to open it to see who or what was there, but I was far too scared to. So I put a video on, went back to bed and played Pokémon on my game boy until the voice went silent and I drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, I noticed my TV was still on, and I remembered it was off when I went to bed, then I remembered what happened. This video made me glad that I didn't open the roller blind that night.

This reminds me of stuff they’d show to us in the 70s/80s at school to warn us about going off with strangers

(SPOILER WARNING!) The final photo along with the narrator only saying "The rest of the boy was never found." gave me chills in a way I've never felt before.

I like how this video doesn't have any screamers nor any jumpscares..... just pure reality

Oh the poor Narrator. He sounds so heartbroken. Like he knows what's going to happen but can't do anything about it

I love how the sleep fairy looks he’s not intentionally creepy but with his long muzzle and gapping maw and tiny eyes, gives you that sense of unease I hopethis isn’t the last of him

The fact that the Cipsneed had plenty of chances to just grab Cailen while his window was open but instead chose to lure him into a dark house in the woods is what gets me. Like he could've easily snatched Cailen up and ran away and that alone would be horrific. But the fact that he instead chose to toy with him and lure him into a trap legitimately disturbs me.

So very underrated, the storytelling feels so real, and not like other analogue horror series where the cartoons are beyond messed up no, this actually feels real, the cartoon here *feels* real, it makes it all the more better and truthful with quality and not some cheap mess, good job on this.

“The rest of the boy was never found” Holy shit dude, that quote alone is scary and the image of the boy’s two feet remaining is the finishing touch to this scary film. I think this is true fear, right here.

I love how instead of using jumpscares, it uses these deceptively cute clay figures, and the way the narrarator says the last line sounds like he's gonna cry or he's trembling! Wish you guys luck on any future projects horror, or not horror

It's honestly a horrible shame that this isn't watched more. It's a wonderfully crafted, dreadful descent into the sad real depravity, and I just want to offer my kudos and respect. I feel you should upload this to more platforms; get some more eyes to see this. Newgrounds is one that I recommend.

The fact that the sleep fairy has a large mouth and small eyes just reminds me of a snake or crocodile, and really makes the uncanniness of his appearance. 3:19 really shows this, his lack of eyebrows and open mouth like he’s about to attack. So hard to put into words the amount of alarms this sets off.

It does enlighten the dangers on listening to somebody even if they know your name you should be careful who you talk to, and presenting the boys findings through his camera amazingly thought.

There’s a ton to unpack here. For one thing, the narrator makes this way scarier than it would be with simple dialogue. It sounds less like he’s telling a story, and more like he’s watching Caleb during this. The shift in the narrator’s voice at the end is incredible. He sounds like he’s on the verge of tears and creates even more of the horror in the film. Then there’s the Kipsneed(?). It looks enough like a sweet little puppet, but the fact that it’s eyes are in front of its head and the way the jaw opens is truly terrifying. I know from personal experience how terrifying anything looking at you from your window is, but this? I’d be dead on the spot. Finally, there’s the end. Only Caleb’s feet are left, but why? Is he alive? Is the rest of him in one piece? How were they cut off? There are so many unanswered questions, and that has to be the most horrifying thing about this film. Humans want the answers, and uncertainty leads to terror. Not only this, but the photos are less like parts of the story and more like evidence that whatever happened to Caleb was not simply a kidnapping. It makes this less like a kids show and more like a unsolved case, animated to piece together the clues about what happened to Caleb. This is easily one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen. Every part is perfection. 10/10!

The best part is the narrator who got the accent, calmness, language style so accurate like those old British children show from the 1970 like Noddy or Magic Roundabout. Gives an uncanny Valley horror

5:54 you can see the man right there look closely right infront the stairs

It’s really sad how this poor little boy just wanted to fix his camera instead he got brutally mauled by some criminal

the detail that Caleb start to cry and the reaction of the "fairy" was 3:10 it's horribly well detailed.

5:43 is probably the scariest shot in the whole video, even though the glitch effect makes it look weird, the kipsnee puppet looks fucking horrifying IRL

the fact the narrator sounds so happy, and at the end he sounds concerned and even sad

“ Fear saves your life”

This is horrifying and really well written. It almost feels like the Sleepfairy was just a puppet being used by a human stalker. It would explain why the Sleepfairy tells Calen to "follow his voice" meaning he's staying just out of reach. Which would be good if you're a human who's trying to hide.

6:47 I love how right at this moment, the narrator's voice sounds more somber and less cheery. amazing detail that i love

A thing i want to believe for this film, is that the entire time this butterfly creature was actually a human, portraying to be someone theyre not. Like not actually in a costume, as the butterfly, or anything. Its a personality disguise, "Im a sleep fairy!", is a disguise personality or persons in general to make the kid trust you. He also has been stalking this child for an awful long time, he knows his name, family, and sleep schedule. He has been planning out his fake personality and the kidnapping for a while. Its horrible how real this is.

7:01 another part that gets me is realizing that he isn't buried but that those are *just* his feet, makes me wonder what happened to him

This is how you do nostalgia horror. Shown in a way that many people forget to show it. Amazing work, dude. 100%

I really wanna see more "Star O-Clock Stories". You could definitely make this into a series, especially with the animation style

That little boy could have been an amazing photographer 😢

Bro showed up, dropped the hardest most unnervingly genuine thing ive seen in a while, and dipped.

Guy dipped off of RU-vid for about 8-9 years before coming back with an utter banger. Now that's what I call dedication towards one's craft.

it's the photo at 5:44 that grounds me back to the fact that the photos are coming from a child and his corrupted camera. the photo of the kipsneed is so morbid and everything onward gives me goosebumps to no end - it's so, so unsettling.

The shot of the sleep fairy down the stairs was the point where I felt so uncomfortable. Like it wasn’t just an image the kid fabricated. It was an actual puppet. That just makes it so much creepier.

That face the fairy makes between 3:17 and 3:18, just before it starts talking? Fvcking horrifying.

I was really expecting the thing to be an actual monster at the end, but no. Just a scary man. That honestly was much scarier

It’s incredibly haunting how the little tv logo disappears as soon as he walks into the killers, or what we can assume is the killers house. The childlike innocents is gone as we’re about to figure out the fate of the poor boy.

This is absolutely incredible. Also, I read some point out that the kid is never confirmed to be dead at the end of this, which is honestly even more horrifying. Leads me to believe that he was a victim of human trafficking- and his legs were removed so he can't run away, to make him an easier target...

The way that the "sleep fairy" acted all fun and innocent at first but as time went on he started showing his true colors. Amazing

While the final line and image were haunting. And the overall sense of dread kept me invested. I think the most horrifying image was the one corrupted photo of the Sleep Fairy beckoning the child into the basement. Its eyes shrunken to dots. While everything else was juxtaposed as realistic in the photos. The "Gipsneed" was just so off in both. Incredible work.

5:40 gave me the absolute chills. Not only does that picture he took proves how it looks exactly the same as it did in the animation parts, unlike everything else, but it also proved how it wasn't his imagination or just symbolism for the real thing because it really is the real thing. That part is terrifying, I don't know why, but I absolutely love it.

I feel like a child was saved by this film.