Setaceous Written & Directed by Tel Benjamin
2017, Australia
A late-night car alarm turns out to be much more than an annoyance to the residents of a suburban neighborhood in this well-made piece of automotive terror from short form veteran Benjamin.
The filmmaker next made the futuristic short film The Obscure (2018).
The Horizon Project
Directed by Scott Belyea
Written by Zack Mosley
2013, Canada
Uninfected survivors of a devastating pandemic are thrown into a nightmare scenario while being transported to a safe haven in this extremely relevant short film.
Director Belyea also made the apocalyptic short film Children of the Dark (2011).
Arcana Written & Directed by Jeronimo Rocha
2015, Portugal
With the accomplished space horror short Dedalo under his belt, talented auteur Rocha turns his attention to the supernatural with this creepy film about an imprisoned witch.
As the ongoing sound after the final fade-out suggests, there’s a lot more story to tell here.
Rocha is planning a feature film version of this, which is definitely cause for excitement.
A Quiet Moment
Directed by Martin Bruyere & Steve Villeneuve
Written by Tatjana Mahdi
2016, Canada
A woman enjoys a peaceful evening at home. The baby monitor is on. What could go wrong?
This is a slick, slow-burn piece with excellent cinematography and sound work. As the classification I chose for this short makes clear, I consider A Quiet Moment to be a psychopath horror film.
But it could be something else as the film displays the kind of creepy ambiguity that only short form horror can really pull off.
Number 15
Written & Directed by Daelan Wood
2017, Canada
After discovering a hidden camera in her apartment, a young woman gets a life-changing knock on her door.
This early work by veteran short filmmaker Wood is a great example of the type of horror short film that can be enjoyed and appreciated on its own but also plays like the first scene of a feature film that I’m sure would be much more intense and a lot less goofy than Jason Lei Howden’s Guns Akimbo (2019).
Wood also made the horror shorts Hello Quinn (2017), Timebox (2017) and Rearview (2018).
Number 15 is not Wood’s slickest work but it is still highly memorable. This one makes a good pairing with Victor Garcia’s T is for Tiles.
Oscar’s Bell
Directed by Chris Cronin
Written by Chris Cronin & Sam Cronin
2018, UK
A camping trip takes a very dark turn in this award-winner from veteran short filmmaker Chris Cronin.
Delivering an excellent piece with almost no dialogue (cinema’s most overrated element), Cronin uses a slow-burn approach and superb sound work to create genuine suspense. Oscar’s Bell has a bit of a 1970s feel to it, and that is intended as a major compliment to this talented director.
Tick
Written & Directed by Ashlea Wessel
2018, Canada
Set in a bleak near-future, a young woman with biological characteristics that make her a feared outsider tries to avoid capture by government agents.
Auteur Wessel, who previously made the horror short Ink (2016), delivers a fresh take on a familiar horror antagonist that demands to be watched more than once.