Short Films

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Panic Fest 2024 Spoiler-Free Short Film Reviews: “Cereal,” “The Curse of the Velvet Vampire,” “We Joined a Cult,” “Up on the Housetop,” “Strange Creatures,” “Howl at the Dead”

Following is a roundup of six of the short-film shockers that screened at this year’s edition of New Orlean’s Overlook Film Festival. Cereal Canadian short Cereal, from director Shane R. Preston, finds young girl Chelsea (Trinity Kaylani Seiling in a fun performance) receiving a disturbing message from her alphabet-shaped cereal: “Kill.” This evil kid short has a nice retro vibe and looks great, with a fine supporting performance from Shelby Handley as Chelsea’s mother. My only quibble is that the fourth wall gets broken twice, which reduces the effect for me. The Curse of the Velvet Vampire Director Christoffer Schurict’s collaboration with band 802 finds two Chinese horror fans watching a strange film in a video rental store. Soon enough, this slice of cinema intersects with real life. Featuring plenty of female undead and the resulting bloodletting, along with some music video, this short film has cult favorite written all over it. We Joined a Cult From Chris McInroy, director

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Joseph Perry

Apr 12, 2024

DocumentariesEventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsShort FilmsThriller

Calgary Underground Film Festival Unveils Its Terrific 2024 Lineup

Horror buffs and genre-film fans of all stripes: The Calgary Underground Film Festival has just released its lineup for its 2024 edition! There’s fright fare galore, from slashers (In a Violent Place; The Last Video Store) to monster movies (Kryptic; Infested) to supernatural chillers (Oddity; The Vourdalak), and beyond. Following is the official press announcement. The Calgary Underground Film Festival has announced the full lineup of films playing the 21st Festival, from April 18-28, 2024 at Globe Cinema. On-scale with the expanded programming of last year’s 20th Anniversary Festival, the largest in the organization’s history, CUFF 2024 will show 41 feature films, 37 shorts, and host 8 special events over 11 days. From horror and sci-fi to indie comedies and music docs, the festival showcases diverse programming of films that defy convention. CUFF is Western Canada’s largest genre film festival, internationally recognized as a top horror film festival on the circuit, and one of the most anticipated events for local

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Joseph Perry

Mar 29, 2024

Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films

Spoiler-Free Short Film Reviews: “Apotemnofilia,” “Lullaby,” “The Bleacher,” “Make Me a Pizza” (SXSW)

Apotemnofilia The titular condition is the desire of amputation for a healthy limb, and writer/director Jano Pita’s Spanish horror short Apotemnofilia finds actress Clara (Lucía Azcoitía) dealing with that as her highly anticipated post-pregnancy comeback play is about to begin. The film addresses Clara’s mental breakdown through graphic displays of body horror elements made with impressive, disturbing practical effects work. Azcoitía gives a fittingly unsettling performance, with Pita delivering a shocking work infused with some dark humor. Lullaby U.K. slow-burn chiller Lullaby from writer/director Chi Thai examines the fragile mental state of a female refugee (Jane Le). She suffered a devastating loss that she finds herself reliving, with those around her providing no comfort or support. Thai uses ever-increasing dread in favor of jump scares and gore, crafting a mesmerizing short that packs a highly disturbing reveal. The Bleacher If you have ever wondered what happened to socks you lost after doing laundry, the animated short The Bleacher from cowriters/codirectors

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Joseph Perry

Mar 22, 2024

Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films

Spoiler-Free Film Reviews: “The Activated Man,” “Escalation,” and “Ron” (Romford Horror Festival)

THE ACTIVATED MAN (U.S., 2023) Writer/director Nicholas Gyeney’s feature The Activated Man is an interesting variation on the “shadow people” subgenre. The film goes all-in on its exploration of psychic power and supernatural forces. Leaning perhaps slightly more toward tugging at the heartstrings than delivering full-blown horror, the film does serve up a decidedly frightening new character in The Fedora Man (Edward Michael Scott), whose appearance should inspire cosplay and Halloween costumes aplenty. The Activated Man is loaded with ideas, perhaps almost too many for a single film, including a late reveal that I won’t spoil here. Unemployed Ors (Jamie Costa) is suffering from depression after the loss of his dog Louie to cancer, and his police detective significant other Sarah (Ivana Rojas) is supportive of him, while she herself investigates local cases of murder–suicides, an epidemic of which is sweeping the United States. Ors begins to see ghostly visions of Louie, as well as unwelcome appearances from The Fedora

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Joseph Perry

Feb 27, 2024

Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films

Spoiler-Free Short-Film Reviews: “The Foreboding: Fractured,” “Sour Milk,” and “Dolly Molly’s Playhouse” (Romford Horror Festival)

THE FOREBODING: FRACTURED (U.K., 2024) In director Kemal Yildrim’s short The Foreboding: Fractured, four university friends go camping in the woods, which is never a good idea when it comes to horror movie characters. Neither is telling scary stories by the campfire, but that happens here too. The elements are set for some forest-bound fear fare, and though I will avoid going into spoiler territory, suffice it to say that what the quartet runs afoul of is not a slasher nor a cryptid, but something of the supernatural variety. The ensemble cast — Eve Kathryn Oliver, Alexander Staunton-Hill (who also wrote the screenplay), Olivia Bennett, Peter Tilley, and Sienna Shih — all turn in fine performances playing believable characters, and Yildrim does an admirable job of setting an eerie atmosphere and building suspense. SOUR MILK (U.K., 2024) A homeless shelter offers a terrifying choice for a young woman in writer/director Joe Duncombe’s Sour Milk. Cassie’s (Molly Grainger) first night at

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Joseph Perry

Feb 22, 2024

Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort FilmsThriller

Spoiler-Free Short-Film Reviews: “Nian,” “Days of Spring,” Mosquito Lady,” and “A Dire Strait” (Final Girls Berlin Film Festival)

Following are reviews of four of the offerings that screened as part of the 2024 Final Girls Berlin Film Festival’s Folk Horror short-film block. Nian Short chiller Nian (U.S., 2023), finds a Chinese American schoolgirl (Lauren Mei in a delightful performance) standing up to a racist bully with the help of a Chinese demon mask and the supernatural assistance of the titular mythological punisher of naughty children. Director Michelle Krusiec delivers a crisp commentary on racism and bullying that nails its fantasy aspects, with a nice amount of heart behind it. Days of Spring Writer/director Arianne Hinz’s Days of Spring (Netherlands, 2022) is a disturbing peek into the secretive world of a small group of young Dutch girls who surrender their individual wills to the group. Eleven-year-old Roos (Anoek Neervort) has invited her friend Ella (Maeve Hickey) to join the group but begins to question herself when the demands of the girls grows increasingly extreme, including animal sacrifice. Beautifully lensed

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Joseph Perry

Feb 13, 2024

Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films

Spoiler-Free Short-Film Reviews: “The Looming” and “Dream Creep” (Sundance Film Festival)

THE LOOMING So often in horror films the elderly are portrayed as scary or creepy subjects, something to fear, run from, or even kill. Occasionally, they are treated with more reverence and respect than usual in fright-fare cinema, such as in director Natalie Erika James’s Relic (2020). Writer/director Masha Ko’s new short The Looming is another such film that examines the plight of the aged and lonely, delivering heartbreak along with horror. Seventy-year-old Chester (Joseph Lopez in an absolutely amazing performance) begins to hear terrifying noises in his home, where he lives alone, and his fears are dismissed both at his job and by his adult daughter, who refuses to come to his home to discuss the matter. Something is indeed, as the title says, looming around Chester, though. Ko has crafted a superb-looking, emotionally charged work that draws attention to the importance of the fears of the elderly, and to how they deserve our attention. I give The Looming

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Joseph Perry

Jan 23, 2024

Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films

Spoiler-Free Short-Film Reviews: “Legend of El Cucuy,” “PU EKAW TNOD,” “Blockbuster,” and “Welcome to the Enclave” (Slamdance Film Festival)

Legend of El Cucuy Folklore horror meets problems of modern parenting in writer/director Cynthia Garcia Williams’ short film Legend of El Cucuy. Laura (Diana Sanchez) and Carlos (Effie Cacarnakis) are attempting to raise their young daughter Isabel (Obriella Genesis Witron) with as much freedom from rules at home and school as possible, but when the girl starts really acting up, Carlos attempts to straighten her out some by telling her the tale of El Cucuy, a ghostlike monster that kidnaps disobedient children, with origins in folk tales from Spain and Portugal. The short boasts great cinematography and a fine score, impressive performances, engaging direction, and impressive CGI and practical effects makeup work. It is certainly worthy of being expanded into a feature-length film. PU EKAW TNOD In writer/director Rebecca Culverhouse’s U.K. horror short PU EKAW TNOD, a young couple (Dorothea Jones and Harold Addo) watch a horror film together when they discover that they are suddenly in a dreamworld —

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Joseph Perry

Jan 23, 2024

EventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsShort Films

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival Offers In-Person and Online Viewing for Its Ninth Edition

The FINAL GIRLS BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL proudly unveils its 9th edition, featuring a captivating array of horror cinema that includes nine feature films, twelve short film blocks, and a variety of horror-themed events and workshops led by international genre experts. This year’s program highlights queer horror narratives, digital dystopias, eco horror, folk horror, the absurd & surreal, and more. Scheduled from February 7-11, 2023, the festival will take place at City Kino Wedding and will also feature an online component for broader accessibility. Dedicated to elevating the work of women and non-binary filmmakers in the horror genre, Final Girls Berlin Film Festival has earned recognition as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Top 50 Genre Festivals in the World and has been named among Dead Central’s The Best Horror Festivals in the World. This edition continues the festival’s tradition of challenging conventions and showcasing groundbreaking horror that pushes boundaries and sparks conversation. Watch our 2024 trailer here! FEATURE FILMS BOOGER Written and

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Joseph Perry

Jan 8, 2024

IndieMoviesReviewsShort FilmsThriller

Short Film Review: Guest 2 (2023)

Remember like four years ago when I clued you beautiful cats n’ creeps in about writer/director Finn Callan’s sinister short Guest? Probably not, but click that highlighted text and you can catch right the hell up! Now that all of that biz is out of the way, let’s dive in to Callan’s follow up, the appropriately titled Guest 2; a longer (but still “short” in the “it’s not quite feature length” sense) deeper dive into the wicked world established in the frightful first go-around! Siblings Jill (Jennifer English) and Ethan (Simon Bigg) are tasked with setting up a support group confab, but E-Dawg has been shirking those responsibilities and sequestered himself in his room. Fed up with such bullshittery, Jill runs the group solo-style and becomes acquainted with with Mia (Natasha Biggs), a woman dealing with severe loneliness and isolation. Unfortunately for Jill, Mia hasn’t been suffering as all alone as she thinks… and soon the preternatural presence, the eponymous

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DanXIII

Jan 3, 2024

Short Films

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