Midlands Review of The Shimian (short)
midlandsmovies • September 14, 2021
The Shimian
Directed by James Peakman
2021
Bader Media Entertainment CIC
A creepy horror short from regional director James Peakman arrives online with his new fright film The Shimian now available to watch.
We begin with the sound of thunder and lightning as well as rain lashing down outside. An old woman (Sonia Lloyd as Lady Jane) settles down in bed for the evening. but as drifts off to sleep she is awoken by a maid (Fiona Dunn) who sits on the bed.
The maid queries whether the old lady has taken all her pills and looks to the bedside to see an empty pill box and a small brass dinner bell.
The maid’s countenance seems very strange hinting at something sinister lurking beneath her seemingly kind ways. Even when she says she’ll leave the woman in peace, the words ring hollow.
And after a long pause she adds a spine-chilling “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”. *shudder*
As the lights go off, the room is bathed in a cool blue and the ominous score combined with weird sounds begins to create an atmosphere of dread.
We, and Lady Jane, listen to strange and distorted screams getting louder each time and echoing around the room. Is it just a dream? And then she is awoken again by some knocking (or footsteps) that feel like they’re getting closer and closer.
The old woman appears petrified and hides under the sheets. As she rings the bell for help, neither her maid or anyone else comes to her aid and we witness something moving under her duvet. Is this the Shimian? What IS the Shimian? The closest I could find was a Chinese translation that suggests it is “to suffer from insomnia”. Whether that’s accurate I don’t know but this lady certainly won’t be sleeping soundly.
Whatever the unknown entity that’s slowly crawling under her bed sheets is, it moves up towards the headboard and as she lifts up the sheets and takes one look at it (we never see it) the old lady bursts out screaming. And that, sadly, is it.
The short is a fun little skit but it really acts a trailer for some other film that is a bit more fleshed out. The abrupt ending is more frustrating than intriguing and unfortunately there’s not much more to note in its limited 3 minutes.
On a technical level, the sound is good, the cinematography solid and the two actresses do well with the meagre content they’re given but I hope this is a calling card for a follow up film as there’s definitely an opportunity to expand this fleeting bedtime horror story.
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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