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2023 Septichexen

2025-09-25T08:55:00.002-04:00

Directed by: Anders Elsrud Hultgreen
Written by: Anders Elsrud Hultgreen
Stars: Roskva Yasmin Asnderson, Brita Grov, Susann Bugge Kambestad
Run Time: 13:49
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCsri1UuKCo

What Happens

In the sewers of Bergen, a microbiologist searches for the cause of contamination of the city’s drinking water. There’s some kind of unidentifiable disease, and our man is down there taking samples. He finds more than a simple contaminant…

Commentary

“Down here you no longer belong to the human world.”

It’s all very dark, moody, and creepy. The locations and weird cinematography really help. There’s not really a great deal of story here, but the visuals really sell this one.

Who knew that “Sewer Witches” were a thing?

2023 Midnight Clear

2025-09-25T08:43:00.003-04:00

Directed by: Joe Russo
Written by: John Jesensky, Joe Russo
Stars: Jessica Morris, Kurt Kubicek, Caige Coulter, Kue Lawrence
Run Time: 7:31
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHq7RXI4exM

What Happens

It’s Christmas, and everything is nicely decorated. Dad admires the beautiful tree, and, with a big smile he asks his crying wife what she thinks. The two kids come on, asking if it’s morning, but he says no, it’s Christmas Eve still, but they’re going to be opening their gifts early this year. Mom, on the other hand, isn’t so enthusiastic…

Commentary

Mom and Dad seem to know what’s going on, but we don’t. He seems mean, but no, not really. Or maybe he’s a serial killer. We just don’t know what’s going on until it all becomes

Midnight Clear” in the end.

2020 Waffle

2025-09-24T11:28:00.003-04:00

Directed by: Carlyn Hudson
Written by: Kerry Barker, Katie Marovitch
Stars: Kerry Barker, Raphael Chestang, Katie Marovitch
Run Time: 10 Minutes
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLOYmmFAsYI

What Happens

It’s a fun sleepover at Katie’s house. She’s very wealthy due to her grandfather's invention of a waffle maker. Her friend Katie tells a funny story about something they did, but Katie contradicts everything she says. It’s a very awkward evening, and then their time is up…

Commentary

Katie may just be a bit obsessive, and she really wants a sleepover. That’s not so bad, but then Kerry isn’t the friend she appears to be in the beginning. Which is more important: money or friendship? With enough money, you can have BOTH!

It’s weird. Well made, but weird!

2024 Stalker

2025-09-01T08:47:00.007-04:00

Directed by: David Cholewa
Written by: David Cholewa, Remy Gente
Stars: Sandra Hohenadel
Run Time: 20 Minutes
Watch it: NOT YET– Still on the festival circuit. Stay tuned!

What Happens

Sarah walks home after a party in the strangely deserted streets of Paris. It’s dark, and she’s alone, and there may or may not be someone following her. She keeps hearing his whistle, and sometimes gets a glimpse of the strange man behind her, but what are his intentions?

They aren’t what you think.

Commentary

This one is pretty amazing. It starts out in territory familiar to horror/thriller fans and then goes somewhere else entirely. There’s no dialogue here other than some on-screen text at the beginning and end. The whole drama plays out on Sarah’s actions.

Very, very good!

2023 Detox

2025-08-28T08:46:00.002-04:00

Directed by: Alex Hanno
Written by: Alex Hanno, Wes Hopper
Stars: Caitlin Morris, Bill Prokopow
Run Time: 9 Minutes
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85siGOUE3Oo

What Happens

Shelly spends too much time with technology, so she wants 48 hours away from her phone, a “digital detox.” She rents a house, turns off her phone, and listens to the soothing voice of the instructor telling her how to be calm without the constant input of her phone.

Then again, maybe she really needs that phone…

Commentary

I picked the wrong day to stop surfing Reddit/Twitter/HorrorGuys.

We all want to do this so badly, but we fear what we’re going to miss. This well filmed, nice-looking, briefly paced film shows us that we were right. We will miss something.

Very funny!

2016 The Sound of Blue, Green, and Red

2025-08-27T08:39:00.002-04:00

Directed by: Joshua Erkman
Written by: Joshua Erkman, Star Rosencrans
Stars: Dasha Nekrasova, Michael Villar
Run Time: 10 Minutes
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_9NkQOEWX4

What Happens

A woman sits in a motel room in the desert. She watches TV, sits by the pool, and wanders around. Suddenly, the TV gets filled with colors, and it seems almost hypnotic. Afterward, she starts behaving strangely. Meanwhile, her husband is out driving around and looking for her.

Commentary

This is a weird one, and I have to admit I don’t completely understand it. It looks great, the sound is excellent, and I was left wanting more. Excellently done!

2016 La Cena

2025-08-26T08:32:00.003-04:00

Directed by: Karim Shaker
Written by: Karim Shaker, Pablo Schulmann
Stars: Fonsi Liebana, Silvia Segovia, Jordi Estupina
Run Time:
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSnN0uSSuAg

What Happens

One young couple goes to have dinner with another couple as they discuss possibly adopting a child. The child’s mother, on the other hand, has different ideas. Things may not be quite as they seem.

Commentary

The situation is awkward and uncomfortable. You know you’d want to get out of there after the encounter with the mother, but they want the child badly enough to stick around. Sometimes, getting what you want isn’t all it's cracked up to be.

2020 The Teachers

2025-08-25T15:26:00.002-04:00

Directed by: Jaclyn Blythe
Written by: Jaclyn Blythe
Stars: Keith Gallucci, Taylor Behrens, Jaclyn Blythe
Run Time: 8 Minutes
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9RblpLP1O8

What Happens

Three experienced teachers throw a small dinner party for the new guy. He’s nervous but wants to fit in with his new colleagues. They start complaining about their students, as all teachers do, but when one particularly problematic kid comes up, the old guard has a unique way of dealing with it.

Commentary

Every teacher thinks about this at one time or another, but very few actually follow through on their responsibilities. Every person new to a job or career needs good mentors and advisors, and Alex is lucky enough to have some good ones!

2025 Turing Test

2025-08-18T08:34:00.000-04:00

Directed by: Jaschar Marktanner
Written by: Jaschar Marktanner
Stars: Marlene Fahnster, Richard Lingscheidt, Özen Fidan
Run Time: 6:28
Watch it: Not Yet– It’s coming soon!

What Happens

Two emotionless people discuss an upcoming demonstration that they hope will be a success. They both seem a little… off, almost robotic in nature. Every once in a while, one of them will say something completely unrelated to the situation. Could one of them just possibly be an artificial intelligence?

Commentary

Is the Turing test all it’s cracked up to be?

It’s probably more sci-fi than horror, but wherever that ending is heading is more scary than any slasher. The acting here is very good, as for a good while, we’re not sure who is human and who isn’t. Sometimes the machines are smarter than they let on…

2017 Lunch Ladies

2025-08-15T07:19:00.002-04:00

Directed by: J.M. Logan
Written by: Clarissa Jacobson
Stars: Donna Pieroni, Mary Manofsky, Daisy Kershaw
Run Time: 19 Minutes
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W-0BtiB92s

What Happens

Two lunch ladies work in the worst school that ever was. Still, there’s one bright spot: They both love Johnny Depp, and they’ve won a chance to cook for him. The problem is they aren’t very good cooks, and they’re both on the verge of being fired. This doesn’t escape the school’s students, especially one especially nasty influencer/cheerleader.

WWJD? What would Johnny Do? If you know, you know.

Commentary

This one is truly outstanding. The production values are some of the best I’ve seen in a short, the comedic acting is perfect, and the timing of everything is just the way it needs to be. The Johnny Depp stuff is funny, the students, both before and after their special lunch, are outrageous, and even the sets, with their Soviet-Era motivational posters, are just awesome. A lot of thought went into this one, and it shows.

I’d totally watch a two-hour version of this.

2025 The Diner

2025-08-14T07:17:00.002-04:00

Directed by: David Shih
Written by: David Shih
Stars: James Gioia, Lauren Norch, Samuel J Gleason
Run Time: 7:38
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tys6YehopuQ

What Happens

A waiter working late in the diner turns off the sign and locks the door. He’s finally done for the night. Out of nowhere, a young woman bangs on the door needing help; she’s totally lost in the wrong part of town. He reluctantly lets her in, and his life will never be the same…

Commentary

I was totally expecting her to be a vampire, but that’s not the way it turned out. YouTube suggested it as a horror film, but the horror elements, if there are any, are really minimal. Still, it’s very well acted and I enjoyed it.

2024 Inked

2025-08-13T07:16:00.000-04:00

Directed by: Kelsey Bollig
Written by: Kelsey Bollig
Stars: Chris Cortez, Kaikane, Joshua Mabie
Run Time: 14 Minutes
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuuQhv7MgWg

What Happens

A young woman gets a tattoo to honor her father, who has recently died in prison. She has the tattoo artist include some of his ashes in the ink for the tattoo. They watch news reports of a vicious serial killer who was recently executed, but there was no connection to her father… was there?

Commentary

This one is exceptional. It takes enough time to get to know the characters, and there’s some real drama there. When the horror elements start up, they’re well executed, look good, and have great effect. In the end, the whole thing makes sense, and I liked this one a lot.

2024 Rejected

2025-08-12T07:14:00.002-04:00

Directed by: Rene Rivas
Written by: Rene Rivas
Stars: Bryn Booth, Austin Buchanan, Alex Demeroutis
Run Time: 15 Minutes
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g2s4CK-2YU

What Happens

This is an old videotape of one of those old “clip shows” that used to be popular in the 80s. In this one, the homely hosts introduce three commercials for the Sonu disc-camera that was all the rage at the time. Except these commercials were all rejected for one horrible reason after another…

Commentary

The three segments are all very good. The one with Bigfoot was especially hilarious, but the first segment was probably the best of the bunch. The hosts doing the introductions were a little over-the-top; I think the film might have been better if they’d played that part straight. Still, this one is a lot of fun.

2017 Airdrop

2025-08-11T07:14:00.002-04:00

Directed by: Jack Gravina
Written by: Jack Gravina
Stars: Diliana Deltcheva, Elizabeth Elam, Rodrigo Trabbold
Run Time: 5:04
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4mrKifR4nU

What Happens

Two girls have been out on the town partying. One asks the other to Airdrop her the photos, which goes as planned. The two split up for the night, and as one girl goes home, the Airdrop messages just keep coming through, but they aren’t her photos…

Commentary

This one is really short and the story is very simple. We’ve seen others with basically the same plot, but this one executes it well and never slows down enough to get boring. Technology horror is always fun, since we all deal with it on a daily basis, and face it: who hasn’t had an Airdrop go badly?

2021 The Bowl

2025-08-07T08:31:00.001-04:00

Directed by: Levi Morgan
Written by: Jamie Green, Levi Morgan
Stars: Wade Brasington, Jamie Green, Levi Morgan, and Hannah Pendergrass
Run Time: 7:13
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3wM6ImWCiQ

What Happens

Jamie confronts his roommate about a bowl that he ate out of and didn’t wash and put away. “It’s not just any bowl, Wade. It’s YOUR bowl. There must be order.” He seems really upset about the dirty bowl… until Wade says it wasn’t him. Maybe it was the third roommate upstairs?

Or maybe it’s even worse than that.

Commentary

I’ve had roommates like Jamie, and let me tell you, that’s the truly horrific part of this story. Still, none of the three had any idea what was in store for them, but at least they were happy in the end.

This one is really funny. There are no special effects, no jump scares, no blood, and still, it manages to impress– mostly from the great dialogue.

Watch it and then go put away YOUR dishes!

2022 The Gate

2025-08-06T08:23:00.002-04:00

Directed by: Matt Westrup
Written by: Matt Westrup
Stars: John Mawson, Robert Rowe, Tryphene Russel
Run Time: 11:08
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RtkXqu8YOw

What Happens

Experts and eyewitnesses discuss the strange transformations that have been taking place with seemingly random people. They painfully change into distorted, monstrous versions of humans and are often violent. As the experts testify, they start to figure out what’s causing all this.

Will it happen again?

Commentary

The weird creature effects are the main draw here, and they’re very well done. I assume they’re mostly CGI, but they blend right in. Not all the creatures look the same, which makes it just that much more fun to watch.

Be careful what you order online!

2024 The Man with No Mouth

2025-08-05T08:17:00.000-04:00

Directed by: Mr. Friend
Written by: Mr. Friend
Stars: Animated. Voiced by Mr. Friend
Run Time: 9:37
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3OrnL79_4Q

What Happens

Little Timothy’s not very smart. He’s up late doing his division homework, and he just can’t get the answers. Much to his surprise, a strange man with no mouth shows up outside his window and wants in. Timothy’s not that dumb; he doesn’t let him in. Still, the man gives him the answers to his homework.

The next night? Well, now they’re friends. What could go wrong?

Commentary

This one is done with stop-motion, in the style of an old VHS tape. It’s very retro, and it gets all the aesthetics just right. We have to wonder just how “not very smart” little Timothy is, but then we find out.

The ending wasn’t a huge surprise, but it was fun anyway!

2024 Lady Parts

2025-08-04T15:11:00.009-04:00

Directed by: Ariel McCleese
Written by: Ariel McCleese
Stars: Ava Hase, Liv Mai, Jake Holley
Run Time: 14:45
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTxbjqzp8Gg

What Happens

Iris, a high school girl, has an erotic dream about her friend Ellie, and it makes her wet. Very wet. This can’t be normal, can it? She decides to go to the big party, where she hooks up with Ethan. She prefers Ellie, but Ethan’s right there, so why not?

There’s nothing wrong with getting a little moist, right?

Wrong.

Commentary

This is well filmed and looks good, but they don’t really try to explain it. It’s most likely an allegory for awkward teenage years, but… wow. I want to know what was going through Ethan’s mind as this all played out.

It’s very weird. Good, but weird!

2024 Chomp

2025-08-01T15:17:00.003-04:00

Directed by: Cricket Arrison, Suki-Rose Simakis
Written by: Cricket Arrison, Suki-Rose Simakis
Stars: Cricket Arrison, DeMorge Brown, Kate Freund
Run Time: 9 Minutes
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdjR7A_szGI

What Happens

We watch as two newscasters read us the evening news. They do the usual witty banter and then sign off. We then cut to a woman in the dark who repeats everything they say. She’s a little weird. On the next broadcast, we see that she’s an intern at the station.

Things are about to get a lot weirder…

Commentary

We don’t get much of an explanation in this one, but it’s pretty clear what’s going on. It’s well shot and looks good; the dialogue isn’t great, but that’s probably intentional to show how “fake” the news reporting is.

I’d like to think this was all in the studio next door to “Late Night with the Devil.”

It’s great!

2025 Minor Anger Issues

2025-07-31T09:00:00.002-04:00

AKA “Küçük Öfke Sorunlari”
Directed by: Can Sagir
Written by: Erdeniz Tunç
Stars: Oguzhan Alton, Ahmet Atakul, Fatih Coskun
Run Time: 6:45
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRTFFiTiZcQ

What Happens

Mert’s teacher complains about him always starting fights in school, and that if he keeps this up, he’ll never amount to anything. Mert’s got anger issues since his parents split up; he lives with his older brother now.

Later, the brother talks to Mert about keeping the beast inside under control before going to bed. As the boy tries to get to sleep, he hears something very bad come into the apartment…

Commentary

Sometimes “The Beast Within” is all you’ve got, as Mert and his brother learned. It looks good, it’s well-acted, and it doesn’t really go where we’d expect. And that music over the closing credit’s a banger as well.

It’s low budget, but it shows what you can do with that limitation.

Nice!

2017 Skipped

2025-07-30T08:11:00.002-04:00

Directed by: Faisal Hashmi
Written by: Faisal Hashmi
Stars: Tarek Ghandour, Ghaleb El Saadi
Run Time: 4:26
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGS48Kcax5k

What Happens

A man alone in the office late one night. The piles of paper seem to get bigger, not smaller. There’s just not enough time to do all of it. Suddenly, he sneezes, and poof- the paper is already filled out? How did that happen? He tries it again, and it works. He can skip time ahead!

What could go wrong?

Commentary

If this was actual time travel, then he’d have had to actually do that work at some point, right? Then again, it’s never a good idea to think too hard about time travel– it might give you a nosebleed.

This fun, nicely made international short has no dialogue, but you can always tell exactly what’s happening.

It’s fun!

2025 Mary

2025-07-29T15:21:00.001-04:00

Directed by: Alexander Chehrazi
Written by: Alexander Chehrazi, Max Markov
Stars: Lanisa Dawn, Alex Gravenstein, Alex DuBois
Run Time: 17:34
Watch it: Not Yet. It’s on the festival circuit

What Happens

A young couple, Tom and Briana, text back and forth about their upcoming date. Later, at the bar, he’s a little late to arrive, but they’ve both been at this online dating thing for a while, they complain that people aren’t “real” online. Still, they like each other, and he invites her to his place. On the way out, she sees someone sketchy in the corner. When she looks again, the stranger is gone.

They head to his place in his car, but she sees that strange man there again, in Tom’s house.

What’s really going on here? Who’s Mary, anyway?

Commentary

This is well shot, and the characters are both believable and likable. It gets more and more tense as the suspense builds and we hear more about Briana’s past. Even as we get the explanation, it gets worse and worse until the end.

It’s very good!