Shuck

In some folklore, the Grim Reaper is a horrendous vision to be dreaded, while in others, he is only terrifying until you get to know him, and then you find out he's a kind and sympathetic escort for the journey we all must take (for example, in Jenny Jinya's comics). In the stop-motion mixed media animation Shuck, the avatar of death is based on the English legend of Black Shuck, a large and terrifying black dog with glowing red eyes. There are also elements of the legendary church grim, a more benign canine spirit that guards a church. Emerson New made this video as his animation graduate film at Edinburgh College of Art in 2023.