Ella
Directed by Dan Gitsham
Written by Dan Gitsham & James Driver
2011, England
A desperate father armed with a shotgun takes center stage in this great, twisted take on the Little Red Riding Hood story.
Ella benefits from a very good lead performance by veteran actor Anthony Head.
Director Gitsham went on to make the horror shorts And the Baby Screamed (2018), Bill (2019) and The Thing That Ate the Birds (2021).
Home Invasion
Written & Directed by Liam Banks
2023, England
Veteran horror short film auteur Banks delivers his best work to date with this gory tale of a pair of thieves who get much more than they bargained for when they enact the titular crime.
Liam Banks also made the horror shorts The River (2022) and Did You See It Too? (2019), among others.
Fishwife
Written & Directed by Beth Park
2021, England
A woman’s solitary existence is interrupted by a pair of strangers with grim results in this highly accomplished piece of Lovecraftian horror.
Watch this one as a double-feature with Fredrik S. Hana’s classic Autumn Harvest (2014).
God’s Kingdom
Written & Directed by Guy Soulsby
2018, England
A priest and a young girl make their way through the countryside as they flee from evil forces.
Guy Soulsby delivers an ambitious, accomplished piece full of high-grade acting-an element sorely lacking in many short genre films.
Soulsby also made the horror shorts Devil Makes Work (2014) and A Sickness (2021).
A Sickness
Written & Directed by Guy Soulsby
2021, England
A suburban loner holds a young boy captive in his basement in this clever twist on classic genre elements.
Check this one out alongside Patrick Mason’s Ayuda and Ben Steiner’s The Flea.
Auteur Soulsby previously made the supernatural horror shorts Devil Makes Work (2014) and God’s Kingdom (2018).
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 Flea
Written & Directed by Ben Steiner
2008, England
Loyalty becomes a life-or-death issue for a pair of estranged friends who used to share a grisly occupation in this atmospheric short film.
A very fresh approach to a familiar subject, The Flea presents the least romanticized take on a monster-killing Savant character you are ever likely to see on film.
Steiner also made the 2014 film festival hit short The Stomach-an award-winning tale of a spirit medium with a bizarre talent.
The Mayflower
Directed by Christopher Goodman
Written by Benjamin Farry
2017, England
An astronaut faces a terrifying situation in this grim slice of space horror.
Having previously made the horror short films Flesh Art (2011), Blight (2016) and Fool’s Errand (2016), highly accomplished visual effects artist Goodman delivers his most memorable short to date with The Mayflower.