What’s a young girl to do when she has a mother that isn’t big on communication and interaction, a teen sister who worships H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional Old Gods, her father […]
Super Scary Shorts Saturday
[Review] He Comes at Night [FilmQuest]: Eerie Canadian Short Brings Back Memories of Childhood Bedtime Fears
It must be getting increasingly difficult to make effective “monsters under the bed” and “monsters in the closet” horror shorts, with so many variations on the theme in both short-film […]
[Review] You’re Dead Hélène [SLASH Film Festival]: Does This Romance Have a Ghost of a Chance?
Writer/director Michiel Blanchart’s Belgian/French short film You’re Dead Hélène (T’es morte Hélène; 2021) is a remarkable genre-blending effort that takes viewers on a ride through three different storytelling genres and […]
[Review] Colossus [H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival]: A Man’s Quest for What Lies Beyond Damages His Life on Earth
A young fighter pilot’s encounter with an unidentified craft sets him on a life-altering quest in Colossus (2021), an outstanding science fiction/cosmic horror short from writer/director James Roe. The short […]
[Review] Tale of the Deaf [SLASH Film Festival]: Mesmerizing Russian Black-and-White Short Is a Gorgeous Gothic Horror
Writer/director Philipp Yuryev’s Russian short Tale of the Deaf is one of the most visually extraordinary films of this year. Shot in sumptuous black-and-white by director of photography Mikhail Kasaya, […]
[Review] TOY TERMINATOR: Man vs. Puppet in Irreverent Horror Short
Director Matt Wisniewski’s puppet horror short Toy Terminator is his follow-up to the 2019 short film Pappy’s World, and somehow it is even more irreverent and mind-boggling than its predecessor. […]
[Review] PEAKING [Portland Horror Film Festival]: Aural Horrors Await a Sound Recordist
Director Daniel Rands’ U.K. horror short Peaking relies heavily on sound design to get its eerie atmosphere across. It does so quite impressively, resulting in a 7-minute shocker fraught with […]
[Review] Laura Hasn’t Slept [FilmQuest]: The Face of Fear Awaits a Young Woman’s Slumber
Writer/director Parker Finn’s terrific short film Laura Hasn’t Slept combines the concept from the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise (along with other horror properties) of avoiding sleep so as […]
[Review] Hungry Joe [FilmQuest]: People and Systems Fail a Distraught Mother Whose Son Has a Voracious Appetite
I strongly recommend watching U.K. horror short Hungry Joe on an empty stomach. Codirectors/cowriters Samuel Dawe and Paul Holbrook pull no punches in their 23-minute meeting of body horror and […]
[Review] Big Wheels [Twisted Dreams Film Festival]: Long-Festering Secrets Surface in This Fine Stephen King Adaptation
Alcohol, insults, and dredging up the past rarely mix well together, and they certainly don’t in the Canadian short film Big Wheels, director Andrew Simpson’s take on a Stephen King […]
[Review] The Unvisited: Short Fantasy Film Takes a Lighthearted Approach to Issues with the Elderly and Their Families
Writer/director Rebekah Fieschi’s latest short film The Unvisited is a playful fantasy exploration of growing older and being separated from immediate family. Though the short has supernatural and horror overtones, […]
[Review] Seek [FilmQuest]: Outstanding Design and Effects Highlight This Excellent Creature Feature Short
Director Aaron Morgan wrings the maximum creepy atmosphere possible in five minutes in his short film Seek. This tale of a rest stop break gone terrifyingly wrong is also bolstered […]
[Review] Changeling [FilmQuest]: A Fatigued Mother Is Plagued by an Otherworldly Terror
The cries of a baby and the slow but caring response of the child’s weary mother kick off a sense of dread in Scottish writer/director Faye Jackson’s U.K. short horror […]
[Review] GOLEM [Warped Dimension Online Film Festival]: Clay Avenger from Jewish Folklore Rises Again in Effective Horror Short
In only about 4 minutes not counting credits, writer/director Ryan Cauchi’s Australian short horror film Golem spins an action-packed tale about the titular anthropomorphic clay creature from Jewish folklore while […]
[Review] The Tell Tale Heart [FilmQuest]: Poe Tale Shocks in Impressive Modern Setting
Director McClain Lindquist takes Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” and gives it a modern updating that is true to the source material but adds a new […]