[animated short film series] DOWN THE LADDER # 1: House of the Dead

Aaron returns to his vacant childhood home. Creaky stairs, cold innards, and a memento he hasn’t seen in years. Just got home and time to travel again. Not sideways, but back.
(#1 of a series.)

Learn more:
https://harnessmortality.com/about/eric-monaghan/

While I didn’t grow up particularly loving animation, Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki proved to me that animation can take dark and serious turns while still maintaining all the creativity and visual resplendence of a more painterly medium. I saw PRINCESS MONONOKE as a child. I remember feeling scared when Ashitaka shot the bandit’s arm clean off with his bow and arrow. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be seeing it at that age—my mom must’ve been duped by the guys at Blockbuster—but I was arrested by the realism and self-seriousness of the film. It has become one of my favorites.

If you care to give my work a shot, hopefully you’ll get something out of it.

Thanks for watching,

-Eric