This creepy stop-motion horror short from filmmaker Savannah Steiner proves how one can summon a sense of terror, suspense and doom with the simplest of materials — as long as there’s a wickedly creative eye behind the camera.

In a surreal, blackly comic cross between the gloomy gothic tales of Edgar Allan Poe and low-budget horror/exploitation films like Roger Corman’s A BUCKET OF BLOOD or H.G. Lewis’s COLOR ME BLOOD RED, the 11-minute film follows the grim struggle of a painter who just can’t seem to find the key to expressing his vision… at first, anyway.

When he meets and falls in love with another, more successful artist, our protagonist’s mad obsession seems to subside… but as you can probably figure, only for a fleeting moment. Not only is the relationship doomed, but the true solution to the protagonist’s creative block comes at a ghastly price.

You can see more of Steiner’s work at her YouTube channel.