How Microsoft’s horror short doubles as a laptop demo

Microsoft and Droga5 turn a Curry Barker horror short into a product demo, with unplugged editing and behind-the-scenes proof.

Microsoft Windows has found an unusual way to put a high-performance laptop through its paces: ask a horror filmmaker to finish a movie without plugging the machine into an outlet. The resulting short film, Mama Bear, is also a demonstration of the computer used to make it.

Created with agency Droga5, the project puts director Curry Barker, known for Obsession, behind a campaign for the Surface Laptop Ultra. An official Windows campaign video makes the challenge explicit: complete the film’s editing on one unplugged laptop. The result was released around Halloween, with a wider…