Guillermo Navarro’s Lot 36 is a solid short horror film (part of Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities), telling the story of “a terrible person gets their comeuppance.” There’s something immensely satisfying in watching a racist and xenophobic opportunist face terror of his own making during the course of this short. There’s also something intriguing about setting the tale nearly 20 years ago – it’s easy for white liberals to believe that times have only gotten bad since Trump was elected, but stories like this remind us that the recent rise in white nationalism, racism, and grievance politics isn’t anything new. The way Tim Blake Nelson’s embittered racist ends up aligning himself with a very particular political group is especially pointed and has so many parallels to what is happening with white men today. While we’re never completely sure what kind of horror will be lurking within the titular storage unit, the short does telegraph all of the steps the characters will need to take to discover the horror, so there isn’t much in the way of genuine scares, suspense, or even surprise. Still, it has solid performances, decent atmosphere, and a recurring bit with the timed lights that’s incredibly effective.