One of the intriguing blocks of short films at this year’s Dark Nights Film Fest was the Aussie Shorts Showcase. The Sydney festival featured nine impressive slices of Australian fright-fare cinema, five of which that I am happy to discuss here and the other equally fine four in part 2.
The Trial
Official synopsis: A young woman’s dark past is unleashed after she enrolls in a bold new pharmaceutical trial. The drug on trial is like no other, promising to change the world.
Kirsty McKenzie wrote and directed the science fiction/psychological horror short The Trial, which won the fest’s Best Aussie Short Film Audience Award, and for good reason. McKenzie also gives a superb performance as Leigh, a woman who so wants to be on the staff of a pharmaceutical trial that she also volunteers as a subject. What happens next puts both Leigh and viewers through an emotional wringer. The 1950s ambience feels authentic.
You can view the teaser trailer at https://www.thetrialfilm.com/.
Strangers at Sundown
Official synopsis: When a lonely frontierswoman meets a world weary vampire romance and revenge echo through the bush.
Director Victoria Wharfe McIntyre, working from Tommy James Green’s screenplay, delivers a captivating short dripping with gothic ambience and eroticism. Lauren Grimson and Socratis Otto are hypnotic in their lead roles.
The Earth, the Worm
Official synopsis: A biology teacher with a peculiar fascination for earthworms forms an unlikely friendship with a bullied student. Yet, his dark secret unfolds as he takes extreme measures to spare them from the pains of growing up.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a more chilling portrayal of a psychopath with delusions of grandeur than that of Paul Gerrard as a science teacher who has macabre plans for favored students in director Reswin Bahas’ The Earth, the Worm. Gerrard’s narration is as goosebump-inducing as his on-screen performance, and the screenplay from Bahas and Shuai Arsa Guo gives him plenty of meaty material with which to work.
Human Resources
Official synopsis: A struggling musician’s first “real job” is revealed to be a corporate nightmare, where employees are forced to feign happiness or end up as prey to their evil boss.
You think you’ve had a job from hell before? Pity the poor protagonist of Human Resources, who has just stepped into one. Director Joel Stephen Fleming serves up a wickedly fun short that hits both the funny bone and too close to home on equal levels, with a sharp screenplay by James MacKenzie Smith. The ensemble cast of Geena Schwartz, Lachlan Stuart, Zara Goodman, Alistair Nicol, and Chris Slater is a blast.
Don’t Ignore Me
Official synopsis: Sofia’s obsession with her phone comes at the cost of her social life. What starts as innocent scrolling quickly takes a dark turn when an app begins sending her messages, with every notification blurring the boundary between the screen and reality. But as the messages grow increasingly disturbing, Sofia realizes this is more than a social media stunt, as it reveals itself in the real world and drags her into theirs. Losing yourself in your phone has never been more terrifying.
Charlie Fletcher helms a nailbiting supernatural take on social media dangers and addiction with Don’t Ignore Me, scripted by Bianca Kean. Rosangela Fasano gives a solid portrayal of a young woman who finds going down a TikTok rabbit hole isn’t easy to escape.
The shorts reviewed here screened as part of Dark Nights Film Fest, which ran October 9-12, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. For more information, visit https://www.darknightsfilmfest.com/.
