Category: Psychopath Horror

NUMBER 15

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.

 

HANG UP!

Hang Up!
Written & Directed by Richard Powell
2018, Canada

While at work, a husband accidentally overhears an intensely disturbing phone conversation involving his wife of many years.

Hang Up! is the latest outstanding short-form work from auteur Powell, starring his favorite lead actor Robert Nolan.

Powell is the director of a number of unique, acclaimed horror short films under his Fatal Pictures banner with producing partner Zach Green including Consumption (2008), Worm (2010), Familiar (2012) and Heir (2015).

NSFW

NSFW
Written & Directed by Cosmo Wallace
2015, England

A blogger attempts to trap a pedophile by posing as a young boy online and setting up a meeting in the woods that has unexpected consequences.

At 30 minutes, NSFW is a slow-burn short film debut that memorably rewards its viewers.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

The Good Samaritan
Directed by Darrin Suzuki
Written by Jay Clarke
2017, Canada

Horrific events unfold on a stretch of country road in this excellent short.

Screenwriter Clarke is a veteran horror short filmmaker, having directed Orange (2012), Lively (2013) and The Monitor (2014).  Director Suzuki is Clarke’s frequent collaborator.

The Good Samaritan is the creative duo’s finest work to date.

 

SHE

She
Directed by Keegan Wilcox
Written by Matt Pelfrey
2015, USA

Two well-meaning men pick up a highly distressed woman who appears to be lost.

They then discover that no good deed goes unpunished in this very well made horror short that’s anchored by an excellent acting performance from Claudia Graf.

She is a potent, horror genre- encased glimpse at the devastating effects of sexual violence.

EL MATADOR

El Matador
Directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero
Written by Shane McKenzie
2013, Canada

This ABCs of Death 2 contest entry (previously known as M is for Matador) is perhaps best described as a brief glimpse into a confined world of total madness.

Guerrero previously made the lesser horror short Dead Crossing and went on to make the horror short El Gigante and the segment “Dias De Los Muertos (aka Day of the Dead)” for the 2014 horror anthology Mexico Barbaro.

PLAY HOUSE

Play House
Written & Directed by Brandon LaGanke
2012, USA

Ever wondered which short film you should watch to get yourself in the mood for a screening of Joseph Ruben’s 1987 classic The Stepfather?

You found your answer here in LaGanke’s disturbing horror short Play House.

Douglas Buck is correctly considered the godfather of what might be called “domestic horror” in the short film world with his creations Cutting Moments, Home and Prologue.

LaGanke creates another classic in the subgenre with this film.  Play House is a tremendous improvement over LaGanke’s black comedy short film debut Bunny Boy and shows directing talent that begs to be applied to a horror feature.

T IS FOR TILES

T Is For Tiles
Written & Directed by Victor Garcia
2011, Spain

After years of toiling on feature film sequels and a Syfy Channel movie in the wake of his critically acclaimed short film El Ciclo, Garcia wrote and directed this excellent short film for the ABCs of Death competition that was created to find an entry for the “T” section of the film.

Lee Hardcastle’s claymation short T is for Tiolet won the competition and was included in the film but Garcia’s short is vastly superior to Hardcastle’s well-animated but ultimately juvenile piece.

BURN

Burn
Written & Directed by Jerry Pyle
2011, USA

Director/screenwriter Pyle makes a very strong debut that channels the brutal essence of author Jack Ketchum’s best short story work.

Pyle wisely cast the criminally underrated and underutilized actor Tim Abell in the film.

Mostly known for the late 1990s TV series Soldier of Fortune, Inc. and a lengthy resume of direct-to-DVD films, it’s a true mystery why the talented Abell did not show up in a major recurring role on Sons of Anarchy, Justified or any number of other more high-profile projects.

Pyle also directed the psychopath horror short Service and the darkly comic short Trust.

OFF SEASON

Off Season
Written & Directed by Jonathan van Tulleken
2009, USA

Director/screenwriter van Tulleken delivers a highly atmospheric, suspenseful short film highlighted by the superb cinematography of Ming Kai Leung.

Van Tulleken has primarily focused on comedy since this great horror short but has had two feature films announced, including a feature version of Off Season.