It’s the 1980s. Yuppies are on the rise. And, so, with said rise, comes all the tenets you’d expect—the house parties, the sweaters tied over the shoulders, the high-balls and fancy cigars. Writer/director Nathaniel Lindsay explores such tropes with his clever satire/creature short, Green Eyed—a tongue-in-cheek exploration of yuppie, one-upmanship culture that just happens to feature a Nosferatic ghoul at the heart of its plot. Yup, you read that right. Amidst all the white, upper middle class bourgeois fraternizing, Lindsay introduces a bit of the fantastical.

High concept ideas can either soar or crash based upon their execution, and with this short Lindsay manages to accomplish the former, taking a somewhat generic plot (snobbish man undone by an unconventional, unexpected superior) and giving it a unique tone and style. The satire isn’t subtle, but that’s partially why it’s so delightful. It’s not meant to be. In Green Eyed, our protagonist’s foe is literally a ghoul—a physical, outward manifestation of his own internal envy-plagued innards. It’s like if we could peer inside Patrick Bateman’s narcissistic soul. And, beyond the thematic implications, really it’s just fun to watch. A ghoul who has a great backhand? There’s pure joy in the absurdity.

The film is incredibly stylish with stellar production values—the period production design, in particular, is a standout. As Lindsay relates, “Strong visual mood and atmosphere are important to me as filmmaker. I was inspired by films like American Gigolo, Scarface and Michael Mann’s work in the 80’s, as well the sensibility of art design firm Hipgnosis and a mix of photographers like Slim Aarons, Guy Bourdin, Charlie White and flipping through a copy of Italian/French Vogue 1980.”

Well, when it comes to atmosphere, Green Eyed delivers in the most beautifully surreal of ways. The film premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2013 and took the Grand Jury Award at the Little Rock Film Festival Horror Picture Show.  Fortunately for us, now that the film is online, we can share one last monster movie before Halloween’s horror-tinged glow completely fades away.