Kitchen (2015 Short Film)

Kitchen is a 2015 short film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Mathew Baynton, Jimmy Shubert, Brad Everett Young, Hikari Mitsushima, and Doug Jones. It was originally used to pitch their script for a full-length feature film to various studios and actors. The full-length film was eventually released on June 21st, 2015. The short film later became a scene in The Haunting.

Plot
A man (Merrick McCartha) wakes up in a house, desperate to escape. After wandering around for a while and looking for the way out, he comes across a video tape, titled "Haunted House". After placing the tape in a tape player found in the house, he watches the recording.

The recording starts on June 1, 2015, at 10:23pm. It is a rehearsal tape for the attempted-YouTube channel Horror Hunters, investigating the "Dulvey Haunted House" with crew members cameraman Edgar (Mathew Baynton); anchorman Alex (Jimmy Shubert), and producer Miguel (Brad Everett Young). In order to rehearse for the show they decide to break into the house and investigate. They wander around the house, while Alex and Miguel converse about the house's history. The house is said to have been abandoned for six years, and was originally owned by the quiet Smith family, consisting of Floyd and Marge, and their son David, the later of whom is described as a bad seed.

Shortly after the dialogue, Miguel wanders off and disappears. When Edgar and Alex notice his absence, the walk around the building to investigate. After some time wandering they find a secret passage, revealed by activating a lever hidden in a fireplace. The secret passage leads to a ladder to an underground area. Alex sends Edgar down first "to get a nice hero shot of [him] coming down the ladder". Edgar reaches the bottom to find Miguel facing a wall on the other side of the room. Moving closer, it becomes clear Miguel is dead, and his corpse falls on top of Edgar. A figure (Ron Perlman) comes out of the shadows and moves towards Edgar, with screaming lingering for several seconds as audio, the video being cut.

The story switches back to the nameless man. Starting at the same fireplace, he enter the passage where the ladder has now disappeared, a key to the back door being found in its place. Heading out the passage and towards the door, the protagonist sees the silhouette of a figure - the same in the videotape - pass by. Reaching the back door, the man is confronted by the figure - Floyd Smith - who says "Welcome to the family, son" before punching him unconscious.

Edgar wakes up in a room tied to a chair with Alex on the floor. Alex finds a knife and attempts to cut Edgar's bindings to free him, but gets stabbed through the chest by a woman (Rachel Noll) in the process. The woman, then moves towards Edgar, killing him as the recording fades.

Cast

 * Merrick McCartha as Man
 * Mathew Baynton as Edgar
 * Jimmy Shubert as Alex
 * Brad Everett Young as Miguel
 * Ron Perlman as Floyd Smith
 * Rachel Noll as Woman