London filmmaker Andrea Niada’s latest short Home Education (United Kingdom, 2016) is a brilliant, mesmerizing entry into my current favorite cinematic subgenre, “But is it horror?” films. It combines discomfiting images, a dark and dry wit, simmering tension, and stylish aesthetics, and the result is a 24-minute tragicomic excursion into a young woman’s increasingly […]
The Madame in Black (AKA Svarta Madam), the latest short from Jarno Lee Vincensius (Darkness Falls, 2016), is another fine effort showing that the Swedish filmmaker is a talent to watch. In this short, he uses an urban legend as his basis for an eerie tale of adult siblings caught up in circumstances that they […]
A new tenant in apartment complex finds himself suddenly drawn into a nightmare world of conspiracy and paranoia in the horror—comedy short film The Fee (La Cuota). Director Juan Falco serves up an entertaining slice of foreign fear fare with this Argentinian effort. All Marcos (Juan Denari, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Juan Falco) […]
Though the Australian slow-burn gothic thriller The Room at the Top of the Stairs is a 2010 effort, the short film is making big waves at the moment with its recent addition to the Shudder online library. Briony Kidd, director of the Stranger with My Face International Film Festival (based in Hobart, Tasmania) helms this […]
A puzzling murder at a store that has closed for the night leads a detective down a dark path in director Michael Aguiar’s After Hours. Fine performances from a cast led by the always reliable Bill Oberst Jr. highlight this effective short film. Lauren Deakin (Dana Mauro) is in the shop where she works […]
A man desperate to find his missing wife turns to a blind psychic in director Adrienne Lovette’s fascinating short chiller Hidden Daylight. The film examines guilt, deception, and more – let’s save some surprises for first-time viewers – in a wonderfully crafted piece. A businessman (David Rey) pays a blind psychic (John Rice, who also […]
In the supernatural horror short The Maiden, real estate agent Lucy Wells (Alia Raelynn) is determined to sell an old house – and desperate enough to forge ahead even when a former resident makes it terrifyingly clear that she considers Lucy a trespasser. Writer/director Michael Chaves has forged a great-looking, suspenseful film that fans […]
British horror short Commune is filled with tension, unease, and dread, thanks in large part to the real dilapidated house used for its setting. Writer/director Thomas Perrett discovered the abandoned house at a Halloween party and was inspired to make this creepy short because of that. Tom (Tom Weller) takes on the task of watching […]
Irish supernatural short Radha is a meditative piece dealing with grief, the search for identity, and the power of transformation through art. Its horror is not graphic or intense; rather, it comes off as a quiet eeriness that pervades the film, offering a chance of hope along with its sense of dread. Saoirse (Sue […]
Writer/director Ryan Spindell has crafted a practically perfect short horror film with The Babysitter Murders. It leads viewers to think we are heading down a well-trodden path but instead leads us to unexpected and wickedly fun places, and looks and sounds great doing so. There’s a horror film within a horror film here, as […]
Placing too much faith in one member of a group has been the downfall of many a band of characters in cinematic fright fare, and the cult of Satanists in director Jason Tostevin’s horror comedy short Born Again proves to be no exception to that rule. This high-energy dark comedy delivers some solid practical effects […]
From its opening shots of stunning 3D matte paintings depicting a rooftop shot of 1888 London (created by Johnny Bones) to its end-credits stinger, director Jonathan Martin’s short film Creatures of Whitechapel is a breathtaking marvel. This U.K./U.S. coproduction combines legendary Victorian era characters, steampunk-style practical effects, and a loving nod to Hammer Film Productions’ […]
Somewhere between classic Pandora’s Box-style cautions and good intentions paving their own roads to hell lies director/co-writer Eric Dresden Connelly’s Darla (2015). What begins as a human drama story with a heartwarming act of concern merges into science fiction and horror territory. A homeless man (Matt Fowler, also co-writer) is rummaging for food and […]
If classic horror stories featuring creaking stairs, shadowy rooms in old mansions, and the occasional thunderstorm to help set the mood are your style of fright film, I can’t recommend writer/director Timothy Vandenberg’s exercise in eeriness Agatha enough. This short films absolutely drips with atmosphere and the performance by young star Louise Ogle is […]
Mark (Matthias Brueggenolte) is a young man who wishes to become a professional photographer, and pictures from the scene of a murder that he witnessed may be the key to landing just such a job in director/writer/producer Robert Mueller’s grue-filled short thriller Shutter (Germany, 2015). A secretary (Leni Speidel) assists Mark with his appointment to […]