CategoryShort Films
Horror short films — festival winners, proof-of-concept scares and first-time directors.
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Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort FilmsThriller
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
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
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
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
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 —
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsShort Films
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
Continue reading →
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IndieMoviesReviewsShort FilmsThriller
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
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
Double Nickel (U.S., 2023) Writer/director Mark Tomov’s short Double Nickel uses Johnny Burnette and The Rock & Roll Trio’s “The Train Kept A-Rollin,” known for its distorted guitar sound, and Tomov certainly keeps things rolling in the distorted world of his neo-noir/crime/horror mash-up short. Set mainly during Christmas season at The Hideaway Cafe, where the 1970s and 1950s blend together, the film finds a pair of criminals (Michael Spears and Jeff Medley) confronting the waitress (Gillian Todd) who hired them to kill someone — without her cluing them in that the target of their hit was no ordinary human. The vibe of Double Nickel is strong, with danger an ever-present feeling and no shortage of hipness on display. The three leads play off of each other wonderfully, and I don’t want to go into spoiler territory by revealing the target of their hit, so suffice it to say that the design is impressive and eerie. Tomov has crafted a colorful,
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsIndieLGBTQIA+MoviesReviewsShort FilmsThriller
Howdy, Neighbor! (2023) It’s former child star vs. stalker in director Allisyn Snyder’s Howdy, Neighbor!, which finds gay actor Benjamin Caldwell (Matthew Scott Montgomery, who wrote the screenplay), who as a youngster had a starring role in a sitcom about a farm boy named Bucky who moves in with relatives in the big city, finding himself in a reluctant situation as his manager insists he join a cast reunion on Zoom to kick off the show being repeated on a streaming service. Benjamin has been downplaying his association with the role, but his new neighbor Chase Mitchell (Grant Jordan) recognizes him and, in the first of many uncomfortable moments, calls him a liar and gets him to confess that he indeed is the actor who portrayed Bucky. Benjamin is best friends with neighbor Harley Walker (Debby Ryan), with whom he shares the news about Chase’s escalating weird behavior. She suggests that he contact a policeman named Marcus Lockamy (Sterling Sulieman),
Continue reading →
AdaptationMoviesReviewsShort Films
Right now, on the Chilling App, there’s a film that’s caught the eye of many after its trailer made quite a splash on the internet, a horror retelling of The Wizard of Oz. The short film titled Gale Stay Away From Oz by Daniel Alexander Films directed by Daniel Alexander and Stars Chloë Crump as Emily Gale. In Gale Stay Away From Oz, Emily is plagued by a recurring nightmare. Emily’s trying to make sense of these dreams as she’s grieving the loss of her mother. Emily then discovers she has a grandmother who is a successful author who wrote a book based on her dreams, and her grandmother’s name… Dorothy. The film itself is quite short, around 28 minutes long, so I’m giving some leeway here when it comes to the pacing of the story, stiff acting, and cheap-looking practical effects that kind of ruin the scares. I feel comfortable saying that because here’s the thing. As a storyteller,
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
Mother Tongue (Australia, 2023) Jade (Amelia Foxton, who wrote the screenplay) and Alex (Chiara Gizzi) want to have a baby together, and Alex desperately wants to have it herself rather than adopting, but the couple has run out of almost all options. Almost all, because director Glen Fraser’s Mother Tongue being a horror comedy, the couple can always turn to the dark arts as a last resort. For their journey into the diabolical, they seek the assistance of Brian (Stephen Hunter), who seems to be on the flighty side but proves that he is indeed an occult practitioner. In another classic horror-comedy case of “Be careful what you wish for,” the trio finds itself in quite a gruesome mess. Foxton’s screenplay is rich with both dramatic and comedic looks at parenting and expectations surrounding pregnancy and its difficulties, and delivers the goods in the occult department, too. Foxton and Gizzi are terrific in their portrayals of the frustrated couple, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
In writer/director Sam Fox’s short film Fck’n Nuts, teenager Dan (Vincent Stalba) is crazy in love with Sandy (Maddie Nichols), so much so that he doesn’t heed her initial advice about not meeting her parents (Michele Rossi and William E. Harris). Viewers already have a pretty good idea about the parents being odd thanks to some of their dialogue and Sandy’s remarks, but once Dan steps inside the family’s home, things go absolutely insane. I had a strong feeling that things were going to be bonkers when I saw that auteur Joe Badon (The Wheel of Heaven; The God Inside My Ear; Sister Tempest) was a coproducer on this horror comedy, and my assumption was correct. Fox crafts a fun, surreal short that blends a nostalgic feel with absurd comedy, and there’s a set piece boasting great-looking practical gore effects sure to bring on the heaves for some viewers. You can check out the short’s trailer at https://vimeo.com/845566547/b39329d86e. Fck’n Nuts
Continue reading →
More from Short Films
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort FilmsThriller
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
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
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
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
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 —
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsShort Films
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
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviewsShort FilmsThriller
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
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
Double Nickel (U.S., 2023) Writer/director Mark Tomov’s short Double Nickel uses Johnny Burnette and The Rock & Roll Trio’s “The Train Kept A-Rollin,” known for its distorted guitar sound, and Tomov certainly keeps things rolling in the distorted world of his neo-noir/crime/horror mash-up short. Set mainly during Christmas season at The Hideaway Cafe, where the 1970s and 1950s blend together, the film finds a pair of criminals (Michael Spears and Jeff Medley) confronting the waitress (Gillian Todd) who hired them to kill someone — without her cluing them in that the target of their hit was no ordinary human. The vibe of Double Nickel is strong, with danger an ever-present feeling and no shortage of hipness on display. The three leads play off of each other wonderfully, and I don’t want to go into spoiler territory by revealing the target of their hit, so suffice it to say that the design is impressive and eerie. Tomov has crafted a colorful,
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsIndieLGBTQIA+MoviesReviewsShort FilmsThriller
Howdy, Neighbor! (2023) It’s former child star vs. stalker in director Allisyn Snyder’s Howdy, Neighbor!, which finds gay actor Benjamin Caldwell (Matthew Scott Montgomery, who wrote the screenplay), who as a youngster had a starring role in a sitcom about a farm boy named Bucky who moves in with relatives in the big city, finding himself in a reluctant situation as his manager insists he join a cast reunion on Zoom to kick off the show being repeated on a streaming service. Benjamin has been downplaying his association with the role, but his new neighbor Chase Mitchell (Grant Jordan) recognizes him and, in the first of many uncomfortable moments, calls him a liar and gets him to confess that he indeed is the actor who portrayed Bucky. Benjamin is best friends with neighbor Harley Walker (Debby Ryan), with whom he shares the news about Chase’s escalating weird behavior. She suggests that he contact a policeman named Marcus Lockamy (Sterling Sulieman),
Continue reading →
AdaptationMoviesReviewsShort Films
Right now, on the Chilling App, there’s a film that’s caught the eye of many after its trailer made quite a splash on the internet, a horror retelling of The Wizard of Oz. The short film titled Gale Stay Away From Oz by Daniel Alexander Films directed by Daniel Alexander and Stars Chloë Crump as Emily Gale. In Gale Stay Away From Oz, Emily is plagued by a recurring nightmare. Emily’s trying to make sense of these dreams as she’s grieving the loss of her mother. Emily then discovers she has a grandmother who is a successful author who wrote a book based on her dreams, and her grandmother’s name… Dorothy. The film itself is quite short, around 28 minutes long, so I’m giving some leeway here when it comes to the pacing of the story, stiff acting, and cheap-looking practical effects that kind of ruin the scares. I feel comfortable saying that because here’s the thing. As a storyteller,
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
Mother Tongue (Australia, 2023) Jade (Amelia Foxton, who wrote the screenplay) and Alex (Chiara Gizzi) want to have a baby together, and Alex desperately wants to have it herself rather than adopting, but the couple has run out of almost all options. Almost all, because director Glen Fraser’s Mother Tongue being a horror comedy, the couple can always turn to the dark arts as a last resort. For their journey into the diabolical, they seek the assistance of Brian (Stephen Hunter), who seems to be on the flighty side but proves that he is indeed an occult practitioner. In another classic horror-comedy case of “Be careful what you wish for,” the trio finds itself in quite a gruesome mess. Foxton’s screenplay is rich with both dramatic and comedic looks at parenting and expectations surrounding pregnancy and its difficulties, and delivers the goods in the occult department, too. Foxton and Gizzi are terrific in their portrayals of the frustrated couple, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
In writer/director Sam Fox’s short film Fck’n Nuts, teenager Dan (Vincent Stalba) is crazy in love with Sandy (Maddie Nichols), so much so that he doesn’t heed her initial advice about not meeting her parents (Michele Rossi and William E. Harris). Viewers already have a pretty good idea about the parents being odd thanks to some of their dialogue and Sandy’s remarks, but once Dan steps inside the family’s home, things go absolutely insane. I had a strong feeling that things were going to be bonkers when I saw that auteur Joe Badon (The Wheel of Heaven; The God Inside My Ear; Sister Tempest) was a coproducer on this horror comedy, and my assumption was correct. Fox crafts a fun, surreal short that blends a nostalgic feel with absurd comedy, and there’s a set piece boasting great-looking practical gore effects sure to bring on the heaves for some viewers. You can check out the short’s trailer at https://vimeo.com/845566547/b39329d86e. Fck’n Nuts
Continue reading →
