Horror Guys’ Short Film Festival 2
Discover more from Horror Bulletin
Horror Guys’ Short Film Festival 2
Horror Bulletin Weekly Newsletter #242
Horror Guys’ Short Film Festival 2
Episode 242
We did it last year, so why not make it a tradition? This week, we’re doing nothing but watching short films, and lots of them— Two per day! Note that all of these are available to watch for free on YouTube. Either watch the embedded videos below or click on them to watch them on YouTube itself (There are a couple that won’t work with embedding, so you’ll need to click through).
Enjoy!
Baby Boom (2023)
Cabin Number 9 (2023)
Familiar (2023)
Skin and Bone (2023)
Sleepbreaker (2023)
Still Here (2023)
Swept Under (2023)
The Dinner After (2023)
The End of the Squirrel (2023)
Devils (2023)
Kuru (2017)
Requiem (2021)
Check out all our books with one easy link:
https://brianschell.com/collection/horrorguys
Here. We. Go!
Short Film: Baby Boom (2023)
Directed by Thomas Lunde
Written by Thomas Lunde
Stars Jesper Malm, Tina Schei, Espen Petrus Andersen Lervaag
Run Time: 11:28
Watch it:
Synopsis
An injured man staggers down the street. He goes into the hospital and says his friends’ stomach was ripped open. The doctor wonders if the man is on drugs, so the man tells his story…
We see a news report about a missing woman, one of several. We see them earlier, Runar, with his friend Peder, at the bar having a beer. They leave and see a meteorite crash nearby. Ten missing girls suddenly reappear as mysteriously as they disappeared.
We then cut to one of the girls, and she’s not quite normal any more, more like an animal. What exactly has happened? All they can say is “Man.”
Runar gets lucky at the bar that night. Or maybe not so lucky…
Commentary
Password! Password!
It all looks really good. We have a pretty good idea of why the girls are acting off, but no one else figures it out. It’s really weird, but it’s also pretty hilarious.
Short Film: Cabin Number 9 (2023)
Directed by Jiya Kapur
Written by Jiya Kapur
Stars Jiya Kapur, Henry Smith
Run Time: 10:22
Watch it:
Synopsis
A woman goes to stay in a cabin in the country to get away from things. There’s a news report about a serial killer on the loose in the area. The victims were all females living alone. She’s on the phone and doesn’t hear any of that.
That evening, we see that someone is watching her through the windows. She wakes up to see flashing red and blue lights outside. Did the cops stop someone? She goes outside to investigate. While she’s outside, someone else goes in…
Commentary
No matter what your job is, there’s always someone better out there. It all went exactly as you’d expect, so I assumed there would have to be a twist of some sort. I wasn’t disappointed, but the ending bit took a little too long to wrap up.
Short Film: Familiar (2023)
Directed by David Ellison
Written by David Ellison
Stars Hugo Nicolau, Rick Wiltshire, Joanna Hudson, Milda Cuplinskaite
Run Time: 9:59
Watch it:
Synopsis
1942, Brackwell, PA. A sad-looking man plays a record as a voice calls from elsewhere, “Let me out! I want to go home!” The screaming intensifies as the credits roll.
We cut to the same man, carrying in a body wrapped in a sheet. He uncovers it in the basement, and we see it’s a woman.
The man sits on the side of the bed, contemplating his actions until the screaming starts again. He eventually calms down and goes back downstairs to the woman, who is dead with a chunk bitten out of her neck. But he’s feeding his master, so he’ll at least be nice to him right? Right?
Commentary
The loud jump scare was out of the blue and got me, I admit it. The old-style music and ambient sounds really make this film shine. The period-perfect locations do a great job of setting the mood as well. We aren’t sure why he was trapped in his role, but he’s not happy about it.
Short Film: Skin and Bone (2023)
Directed by Eli Powers
Written by Eli Powers
Stars Amanda Seyfried, Thomas Sadoski
Run Time: 16:56
Synopsis
A man with a strange eye gets off a truck and goes hiking. He comes across a woman feeding her horse; he’s here for the job. She asks him about his eye, and he says he was born that way. She tells him the rules and lets him sleep in the barn; he’s very agreeable, but she’s pretty tough-sounding. His name is Christian, and she’s Serene.
He soon gets to work doing things around the farm. Serene watches him out the window. That night, he hears something and wakes up; there’s a naked man shivering in the corner of the barn. Nope– just a dream!
Or was it? Christian starts sleeping with a knife under his pillow. Serene asks if he has any attachments, and he doesn’t anymore.
Commentary
“A horse is a horse, of course, of course,” but not always.
This looks really good, very sharp and stylish. It’s even got a song in the middle. This starts out interesting, and it could go a bunch of different ways. The first half could be the start of any generic Hallmark romance movie, but obviously, that’s not it.
It’s not quite clear who the crazy one is until the very end.
Short Film: Sleepbreaker (2023)
Directed by Andrei Stoliar
Written by Andrei Stoliar
Stars Maria Lesukova
Run Time: 6:06
Watch it:
Spoilery Synopsis
A woman puts down her phone and goes to sleep. She dreams of something disturbing. Twice. She gets up to take a sleeping pill and tries to go back to sleep. Ever have one of those nights where it’s just not happening?
It’s even worse when she does get to sleep…
Commentary
It starts out with “I can’t sleep” and soon changes to “I don’t want to sleep,” bringing up echoes of “Nightmare on Elm Street,” but it’s not that at all. The ending points more toward “The Ring” than anything else. From the on-screen text, it’s clearly made in Russia, but the little dialog there is all in English.
It’s short, but it’s good!
Short Film: Still Here (2023)
Directed by Matthew D. Gilpin
Written by Matthew D. Gilpin
Stars Gerard Cooke, Izzy Haines, Matthew D. Gilpin
Run Time: 4:58
Watch it:
Synopsis
James wonders what it’s like living a normal life. He says he can’t believe everything he sees. He hears the whispers; he sees the things behind him. He needs constant reminding just to stay sane. He lost someone close to him, and he’s having trouble adjusting.
Commentary
Ah, schizophrenia. It’s real, or is it? It doesn’t matter if it’s not all bad, right?
This one’s really short, and there are no real special effects or jump-scares, but it’s really well-acted and looks excellent.
Short Film: Swept Under (2023)
Directed by Ethan Soo
Written by Ethan Soo
Stars Alvin Heng, Lisa Bobby, Brandon Lessard
Run Time: 9:36
Watch it:
Synopsis
We hear news reports about Cambodia’s civil war in the 70s. There are a vast number of Cambodian refugees moving to the US. Cameron was one of them, and he’s all grown up now. He’s moving to a new home, and he finds a rug, a gift from his adopted sister. She says, “It’s not just any rug; it’s made by a survivor of the genocide.”
The thing is filthy, so that evening, Cam beats his rug. The problem is that this rug has had enough abuse. Then it starts singing to him…
Commentary
So many things are “swept under the rug” when talking about politics and genocide. Cameron didn’t have anything to do with it, so this is all a bit unfortunate for him.
This one is really weird. It’s got a pretty heavy political message in there as well, but that only makes it better.
Short Film: The Dinner After (2023)
Directed by Matty Crawford
Written by Paul Carey
Stars Lucy Doyle, Joanna Brookes, John Ramm, Fern Deacon
Run Time: 12:08
Watch it:
Synopsis
Angela arrives home at her parents’ house for dinner. She’s been away for a while, and she doesn’t seem terribly comfortable coming home. It’s all very awkward. They bring her favorite meal, roast chicken, but she says she’s always been a vegetarian. The parents seem to be confusing her for someone else; her father even calls her by the wrong name.
Someone here is delusional– but who? There are dysfunctional families, and then there’s… this.
Commentary
It’s all really well acted and shot. It looks great. Still, this is a horror short, not a family drama, so you know something is up…
Short Film: The End of the Squirrel (2023)
Directed by Michael Christensen
Written by Michael Christensen
Stars Katherine Olson, Jeremy Appel
Run Time: 7:20
Watch it:
Synopsis
Zombie apocalypse. Holed-up survivors in a house with a swarm outside. Minutes to live.
Jer and Kit only have two bullets left, so they know how this is going to end, but Jer wants some kind of “swan song.” He sits at the piano and plays…
Commentary
The apocalypse looks like a lot of fun until it’s not anymore. The song is quite good, the setting and acting are perfect. I like this one a lot!
Short Film: Kuru (2017)
Directed by Jonathan Cuartas
Written by Jonathan Cuartas
Stars Mark Ashworth, Thomas Alvarez, Amy Hoerler, Karen Chimato
Run Time: 16:26
Watch it:
Synopsis
A man is driving at night. He picks up a man along the side of the road but instead of dropping the man off as planned, he cuts his throat. Dwight talks to his sister about letting the victim call home first. Then they feed their little brother Oscar.
Next, the sister goes out for her victim, but she comes back severely injured. He tells her they can’t do this anymore. “Mother left us responsible for him.” The sister decides to let Oscar eat her.
Eventually, Dwight has had enough of this life…
Commentary
I go into these shorts “blind” so as not to spoil myself as to any twists, so I had no idea what this was before watching it. I noticed almost immediately that it’s an identical plot to “My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To” (2020). It turns out that the director/writer of that also did this first and the full-length version a few years later. Then I checked the original date and figured out that this came first, back in 2017 (Alter shows this as a new release, so that was confusing).
Still, it’s well shot and very atmospheric. It’s good in itself, but the “long” version explores the idea better.
Short Film: Requiem (2021)
Directed by Em J. Gilbertson
Written by Laura Jane Runbridge
Stars Bella Ramsey, Safia Oakley Green, Simon Bacon, Sean Buchanan
Run Time: 24:12
Watch it:
Synopsis
It’s the year 1605 in England. The preacher holds Evelyn back as she watches someone burn.
We cut to a sermon given by her father, Minister Gilbert. Afterward, Mr. Shorter suggests that maybe she would want to marry his son, Matthew, but she’s definitely not into that idea. Mary comes in, and they’re good friends– inappropriately good friends. Gilbert tells Evelyn to strongly consider marrying Matthew and to forget about Mary.
Gilbert insists that witches may be tried; God will protect them if they’re innocent. Evelyn thinks there may be more mundane things going on than witchcraft. The next day, she meets up with Mary, and we find out why she’s not interested in Matthew. Some men walk by and see them together.
So how does a same-sex relationship work out in the Puritanical witch-hunt days? Not well.
Commentary
It’s got a pretty big budget; the costumes and sets are really good, and there are a lot of actors involved. It’s also very well thought out. The divider down the length of the bed is something I hadn’t seen before, but it makes sense considering the situation.
There are several slow stretches that could have been condensed or cut; the pacing is pretty slow. Still, they’ve got those sets, and they weren’t afraid to use them. Once we understand the situation, there really aren’t any surprises here. It’s definitely more of a period drama than horror, but the ending certainly qualifies it.
Short Film: Devils (2023)
Directed by Bret Miller
Written by Bret Miller
Stars Chris Newman, Connie Cowper, Bill Vincent
Run Time: 12:42
Watch it:
Synopsis
A boy plays with cars until one falls out the window. He falls out to his death.
Present Day. David calls his wife; he has a stop to make on the way home. An old man asks if David is the one who’s fixing up that old house– it’s the house from before. The old man looks up at the high window, and it’s clear he knows what happened there.
David goes inside the beautifully restored house and looks around. He hears something moving upstairs and goes to investigate. We see that he’s not alone…
Commentary
It starts off slow and mysterious, but things escalate very quickly!
The house is really nice, and the acting is great as well. We know from the get-go that the little boy died there, but we don’t know the whole story. Every neighborhood has that one house that everyone knows about…
Newsletter Contact Info:
Stay tuned for more regular and bonus reviews next week!
Email: email@horrorguys.com
Book Store: https://brianschell.com/collection/horrorguys
Website: https://www.horrorguys.com
Subscribe by email: http://horrorbulletin.substack.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/horrormovieguys
Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@BrianSchell
Threads: https://threads.net/brian_schell
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HorrorMovieGuys