Shorts Series Part 2: The Scariest Short Horror Films to Watch Right Now
By: Stephanie Welling
And we’re back! In part two of our series evaluating the best short horror films you can watch right now, we take a look at five of our all-time favorites. From a not-so leisurely stroll through the Australian wilderness to a cursed piece of furniture, get ready to experience the spookiest of what the short-form has to offer.
Not Alone in Here - Ponysmasher - by and starring David Sandberg and Lotta Losten
You're going to see a lot of Ponysmasher projects in upcoming lists, and for good reason. David Sandberg and Lotta Losten's latest short is also the first to feature a voice-over, and the first time we get to actually hear Lotta's thoughts as she navigates the almost hilariously constant haunting of their home. Lotta narrates a home invasion as it happens in the same way one might describe their day in a journal. To be honest, the plot itself isn’t particularly important as it’s really not that different from their past work. What makes it special is its winking self-awareness, a quality that is arguably present in all of their work but can be found in fistfuls here. It laughs at itself and gives Lotta a chance to speak for herself as she confronts the seemingly endless horrors of their home. The fiction of these shorts may not technically exist in the same universe, but they all share a consistent message culminating in this newest release: we are not alone in here.
Blackwood - directed and written by Andrew Montague, starring Danielle Butlin.
Blackwood drowns us in dread as we follow Nikki, played by the absolutely superb Danielle Butlin, as she walks deeper into the beautiful Australian wilderness. Nikki is working as a sound recordist on the set of a horror film. As they wrap shooting for the day, she is asked to take a break and get some background sounds from the forest that surrounds them. As she travels deeper into the forest, she picks up a faint, throbbing hum that can only be heard with her headphones. Through truly outstanding sound design and cinematography, Montague elevates these 11 short minutes into a harrowing experience. But if a film is only as good as its actors, the true brilliance of Blackwood comes from Butlin whose facial expressions say volumes despite a script that is almost entirely without dialogue. We are hopelessly bound to Nikki as we both discover the unnerving and unrelenting sound in the forest.
I Heard It Too - directed by Matt Sears and Tim Knight, starring Rowena Beagley, Nina Beagley, Sophie Juge
I'm a little biased towards this short as it is a recreation of my favorite two-sentence horror story.
You hear your mom calling you into the kitchen. As you are heading down the stairs you hear a whisper from the closet saying “Don’t go down there honey, I heard it too.” — comparativelysane
Real-life mother and daughter, Rowena and Nina Beagley experience a terrifying 7 minutes wherein they live these two haunting sentences. You already know the plot, so there are no surprises there, but it is both the authenticity of Rowena and Nina’s relationship and Sears’ commitment to capturing the original uncanny feel of the story that really makes this short stand out. To say more would be doing I Heard It Too a disservice, so go watch it and see for yourself.
The Armoire - by Evan Cooper, starring Hannah Barlow and Strange Dave
Evan Cooper’s The Armoire, complete with a wonderfully committed performance by Hannah Barlow, follows a fresh-faced, struggling actress named Emma who moves to Los Angeles to pursue her Hollywood dreams. Cooper wastes no time diving into the horror that accompanies an abandoned armoire that Emma excitedly brings back to her barely furnished apartment. She soon discovers, however, that with it comes a nightmarish haunting that plagues her nights with sounds of footsteps, the implacable thrum of fingers tapping, and a creeping sense of dread as we discover the true price of the armoire.
The Hidebehind - by Parker Finn, starring Robin Collins.
Parker Finn’s The Hidebehind features a creature from real life 19th-century lore bearing the titular name. Every century is a bad century for lumberjacks, but felling trees in the 19th century was likely even worse. Thus, the Hidebehind was born; a succinctly named creature that hides behind objects, namely trees, whenever one attempts to observe it directly. The Hidebehind would silently stalk and attack its chosen prey and then drag its helpless victims back to its home where it would feast on their intestines. Unfortunately, we do not get to see the latter half in Finn’s short, but we do get to join Robin Collins on his terrifying trek in the wilderness. Collins plays an unnamed hiker who is clearly hurt and lost, complete with a cheeky shot of a “Get Lost in Nature” patch on his backpack, as he is suddenly confronted by the Hidebehind. Once again, to say more would be a disservice so go ahead and pull this up and enjoy the harrowing cat and mouse between the Hidebehind and the ill-fated hiker.