The moving picture is the perfect medium through which to transmit nightmares. Still images can freaky as all heck--just ask Goya--but the tension in atmosphere, the sense of danger that can be achieved with the tools of motion and sound is unlike anything else. Humor, too, is an element rendered best with the extra dimension of time, where pacing becomes the most important element. The following artists have managed to wrap up both humor and horror in these standout video works. 

Walks of Life

This is the story of the evolution of life from day one up until now. It's told with video fingers. Nothing more. The animator known as Cyriak is seriously adept at manipulating organic life forms to create his own strange imagery. He also composes a killer soundtrack for his pieces. 

Pencil Face

Pencil Face is one of those shorts that sounds really silly on paper, but when watched ends up being one of the creepiest three minutes of your life. Whoever designed the sound on this one deserves a billion gold stars. It's not quite a soundtrack, but a series of methodical instrumental patterns that serves to build a fascinating and eerie mood. The film's about the adventures of a girl who befriends a giant Ticonderoga. It's on YouTube via SCAD Shorts, a monthly online series of independent short films. 

Pink

Charlie White is the artist probably best known for his "Understanding Joshua" conceptual photo series and the videos he's done for Interpol. Clocking in at just over a minute, his micro-short Pink features some very efficient storytelling and some staggering imagery. This little surrealist nightmare was completed as part of Adidas's "Adicolor" promotion. It's part of White's ongoing artistic exploration of teenage femininity. 

Umshini Wam

You've probably seen South African rap group Die Antwoord's breakout video "Enter the Ninja". Maybe you thought it was a little childish compared to what the rap scene comes up with over in the states. In Harmony Korine's 2011 short Umshini Wam, Die Antwoord artists Ninja and Yo Landi prove they're not just hacks goofing off for the attention. This strange short features some serious acting from these two as they portray disabled versions of themselves who roll around in wheelchairs wearing DIY Pokemon onesies. It's both a love story and a sly commentary on the institution of "gangsta", as funny as it is strange and sad. 

A Family Finds Entertainment

Video artist Ryan Trecartin was just a wee one at RISD when he made this magnum opus of a short. He submitted it as his BA thesis and it quickly took to the internet, heralded as a fresh take on the format, a fascinating media jumble that's quintessentially of the present generation. AFFE has done a better job at dissecting the phenomenon of the hipster--its uncomfortable location at the intersection of childhood and adulthood--than anything else I've seen in the art world. By constructing a world full of jumpy editing, bright colors, and pitch-adjusted voices, Trecartin puts our collective identity under a harsh spotlight. At times, watching the film feels a bit like sitting through long-form Adult Swim madness: it's hilarious, confusing, and oddly resonant. It's a perfect cross-section of the present-day young adult ego on screen.