Kansas City’s Panic Fest 2025 opens March 27 with an in-person festival running through April 2 and a virtual version running through April 6. More than 130 films are on tap, and I’ve been fortunate to have a sneak peek at some of the selections. Among them, I’d like to highlight seven short films that I highly recommend. Reviews are embargoed at this time, but I offer brief comments in italics after the synopsis of each short.
For full information including ticket sales and virtual access details, visit https://panicfilmfest.com/.
Whitch
Synopsis: After putting her daughter to bed, Aura discovers an intruder in her house: an elderly lady who acts strangely familiar, and is hell-bent on performing a bloody ritual before midnight.
If nerve-rattling supernatural predicaments featuring the unexpected is your vibe, you’ll want to give this one a watch.
Pit Stop
Synopsis: A prisoner and guard are stranded and out of gas, but they’re not alone.
This sci-fi thriller packs some food for thought in with its suspense. Teaser trailer at https://vimeo.com/930074060.
Una Volta
Synopsis: In this supernatural mystery, set in the dense forests of Italy in 1873, a young mother and her son find themselves lost and disoriented. Unbeknownst to them, their fate is shaped by a mysterious sorceress lurking in the shadows of the wilderness. She has altered the very fabric of time itself, plunging the mother and son into a world where past, present, and future intertwine in bewildering ways.
This short film from The Netherlands is a dark fantasy that is rich in atmosphere.
The Humming Grows
Synopsis: Breaking into her sister’s home in an attempt to save her, MMA fighter Jodie realizes she must free her chained niece from both a brutal captor and family secrets as she fights for their escape. Stumbling upon a bloodstained photo of a family, unveiling more suspicious signs, the intruder is thrown into a horrific dynamic and forced to double down on their decision to break into the house.
Stunt performer Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz shines as the hard-hitting protagonist in this thriller that starts off with a home invasion sequence and then goes to unexpected places.
Virgin
Synopsis: A horror movie about the birth of Jesus Christ.
A true shocker, and the less you know about it going in, the better.
Close Encounter
Synopsis: A skeptical teenage girl, Riley, reluctantly joins her UFO-obsessed father, Jerry, on a road trip to a UFO convention, only to experience an otherworldly encounter that brings them closer together.
Science fiction that warms the heart? Yes, please!
Ensouled
Synopsis: Deep within the enigmatic Eternia facility, Clara carries a heavy burden of concealed grief. But within these mysterious walls, her life is about to transform in ways she never imagined.
This science fiction/horror short will run you through a series of emotions.
