2023 Detox

• Directed by: Alex Hanno
• Written by: Alex Hanno, Wes Hopper
• Stars:  Caitlin Morris, Bill Prokopow
• Run Time: 9 Minutes
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85siGOUE3Oo

What Happens

Shelly spends too much time with technology, so she wants 48 hours away from her phone, a “digital detox.” She rents a house, turns off her phone, and listens to the soothing voice of the instructor telling her how to be calm without the constant input of her phone. 

Then again, maybe she really needs that phone…

Commentary

I picked the wrong day to stop surfing Reddit/Twitter/HorrorGuys. 

We all want to do this so badly, but we fear what we’re going to miss. This well filmed, nice-looking, briefly paced film shows us that we were right. We will miss something. 

Very funny!

2016 The Sound of Blue, Green, and Red

• Directed by: Joshua Erkman
• Written by: Joshua Erkman, Star Rosencrans
• Stars:  Dasha Nekrasova, Michael Villar
• Run Time: 10 Minutes
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_9NkQOEWX4

What Happens

A woman sits in a motel room in the desert. She watches TV, sits by the pool, and wanders around. Suddenly, the TV gets filled with colors, and it seems almost hypnotic. Afterward, she starts behaving strangely. Meanwhile, her husband is out driving around and looking for her. 

Commentary

This is a weird one, and I have to admit I don’t completely understand it. It looks great, the sound is excellent, and I was left wanting more. Excellently done!

2016 La Cena

• Directed by: Karim Shaker
• Written by: Karim Shaker, Pablo Schulmann
• Stars:  Fonsi Liebana, Silvia Segovia, Jordi Estupina
• Run Time: 
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSnN0uSSuAg

What Happens

One young couple goes to have dinner with another couple as they discuss possibly adopting a child. The child’s mother, on the other hand, has different ideas. Things may not be quite as they seem.

Commentary

The situation is awkward and uncomfortable. You know you’d want to get out of there after the encounter with the mother, but they want the child badly enough to stick around. Sometimes, getting what you want isn’t all it's cracked up to be. 

2020 The Teachers

• Directed by: Jaclyn Blythe
• Written by: Jaclyn Blythe
• Stars:  Keith Gallucci, Taylor Behrens, Jaclyn Blythe
• Run Time: 8 Minutes
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9RblpLP1O8

What Happens

Three experienced teachers throw a small dinner party for the new guy. He’s nervous but wants to fit in with his new colleagues. They start complaining about their students, as all teachers do, but when one particularly problematic kid comes up, the old guard has a unique way of dealing with it. 

Commentary

Every teacher thinks about this at one time or another, but very few actually follow through on their responsibilities. Every person new to a job or career needs good mentors and advisors, and Alex is lucky enough to have some good ones!

2025 Turing Test

• Directed by: Jaschar Marktanner
• Written by: Jaschar Marktanner
• Stars:  Marlene Fahnster, Richard Lingscheidt, Özen Fidan
• Run Time: 6:28
• Watch it: Not Yet– It’s coming soon!

What Happens

Two emotionless people discuss an upcoming demonstration that they hope will be a success. They both seem a little… off, almost robotic in nature. Every once in a while, one of them will say something completely unrelated to the situation. Could one of them just possibly be an artificial intelligence?

Commentary

Is the Turing test all it’s cracked up to be? 

It’s probably more sci-fi than horror, but wherever that ending is heading is more scary than any slasher. The acting here is very good, as for a good while, we’re not sure who is human and who isn’t. Sometimes the machines are smarter than they let on…

2017 Lunch Ladies

1. Directed by: J.M. Logan
2. Written by: Clarissa Jacobson
3. Stars:  Donna Pieroni, Mary Manofsky, Daisy Kershaw
4. Run Time: 19 Minutes
5. Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W-0BtiB92s

What Happens

Two lunch ladies work in the worst school that ever was. Still, there’s one bright spot: They both love Johnny Depp, and they’ve won a chance to cook for him. The problem is they aren’t very good cooks, and they’re both on the verge of being fired. This doesn’t escape the school’s students, especially one especially nasty influencer/cheerleader. 

WWJD? What would Johnny Do? If you know, you know.

Commentary

This one is truly outstanding. The production values are some of the best I’ve seen in a short, the comedic acting is perfect, and the timing of everything is just the way it needs to be. The Johnny Depp stuff is funny, the students, both before and after their special lunch, are outrageous, and even the sets, with their Soviet-Era motivational posters, are just awesome. A lot of thought went into this one, and it shows. 

I’d totally watch a two-hour version of this. 

2025 The Diner

• Directed by: David Shih
• Written by: David Shih
• Stars:  James Gioia, Lauren Norch, Samuel J Gleason
• Run Time: 7:38
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tys6YehopuQ

What Happens

A waiter working late in the diner turns off the sign and locks the door. He’s finally done for the night. Out of nowhere, a young woman bangs on the door needing help; she’s totally lost in the wrong part of town. He reluctantly lets her in, and his life will never be the same…

Commentary

I was totally expecting her to be a vampire, but that’s not the way it turned out. YouTube suggested it as a horror film, but the horror elements, if there are any, are really minimal. Still, it’s very well acted and I enjoyed it. 

2024 Inked

1. Directed by: Kelsey Bollig
2. Written by: Kelsey Bollig
3. Stars:  Chris Cortez, Kaikane, Joshua Mabie
4. Run Time: 14 Minutes
5. Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuuQhv7MgWg

What Happens

A young woman gets a tattoo to honor her father, who has recently died in prison. She has the tattoo artist include some of his ashes in the ink for the tattoo. They watch news reports of a vicious serial killer who was recently executed, but there was no connection to her father… was there?

Commentary

This one is exceptional. It takes enough time to get to know the characters, and there’s some real drama there. When the horror elements start up, they’re well executed, look good, and have great effect. In the end, the whole thing makes sense, and I liked this one a lot. 

2024 Rejected

1. Directed by: Rene Rivas 
2. Written by: Rene Rivas
3. Stars:  Bryn Booth, Austin Buchanan, Alex Demeroutis
4. Run Time: 15 Minutes
5. Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g2s4CK-2YU

What Happens

This is an old videotape of one of those old “clip shows” that used to be popular in the 80s. In this one, the homely hosts introduce three commercials for the Sonu disc-camera that was all the rage at the time. Except these commercials were all rejected for one horrible reason after another…

Commentary

The three segments are all very good. The one with Bigfoot was especially hilarious, but the first segment was probably the best of the bunch. The hosts doing the introductions were a little over-the-top; I think the film might have been better if they’d played that part straight. Still, this one is a lot of fun. 

2017 Airdrop

• Directed by: Jack Gravina
• Written by: Jack Gravina
• Stars:  Diliana Deltcheva, Elizabeth Elam, Rodrigo Trabbold
• Run Time: 5:04
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4mrKifR4nU

What Happens

Two girls have been out on the town partying. One asks the other to Airdrop her the photos, which goes as planned. The two split up for the night, and as one girl goes home, the Airdrop messages just keep coming through, but they aren’t her photos…

Commentary

This one is really short and the story is very simple. We’ve seen others with basically the same plot, but this one executes it well and never slows down enough to get boring. Technology horror is always fun, since we all deal with it on a daily basis, and face it: who hasn’t had an Airdrop go badly?

2021 10-33

• Directed by: Alexander Maxim Seltzer
• Written by: Alexander Maxim Seltzer
• Stars:  Alison Louder, Andrew Chown, Hannah Galway
• Run Time: 10:02
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I39C2cn_5Y

What Happens

Ava goes to the crowded bathroom at the theater. She sits in her stall listening to the other girls gossip about the craziest things. Suddenly, she hears gunfire outside. And then inside. Then, the gunman comes into the restroom and kills everyone but her. 

What could he want? We watch as Ava negotiates for her life…

Commentary

It’s very well shot. We only see Ava for most of the film, and a few other girls right at the beginning; we never see the gunman at all, so he’s left to our imagination. What does he want? Why is he doing all this? Will we get answers?

So much suspense!!!

2021 The Bowl

• Directed by: Levi Morgan
• Written by: Jamie Green, Levi Morgan
• Stars:  Wade Brasington, Jamie Green, Levi Morgan, and Hannah Pendergrass
• Run Time: 7:13
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3wM6ImWCiQ

What Happens

Jamie confronts his roommate about a bowl that he ate out of and didn’t wash and put away. “It’s not just any bowl, Wade. It’s YOUR bowl. There must be order.” He seems really upset about the dirty bowl… until Wade says it wasn’t him. Maybe it was the third roommate upstairs? 

Or maybe it’s even worse than that. 

Commentary

I’ve had roommates like Jamie, and let me tell you, that’s the truly horrific part of this story. Still, none of the three had any idea what was in store for them, but at least they were happy in the end. 

This one is really funny. There are no special effects, no jump scares, no blood, and still, it manages to impress– mostly from the great dialogue.

Watch it and then go put away YOUR dishes!

2022 The Gate

• Directed by: Matt Westrup
• Written by: Matt Westrup
• Stars:  John Mawson, Robert Rowe, Tryphene Russel
• Run Time: 11:08
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RtkXqu8YOw

What Happens

Experts and eyewitnesses discuss the strange transformations that have been taking place with seemingly random people. They painfully change into distorted, monstrous versions of humans and are often violent. As the experts testify, they start to figure out what’s causing all this. 

Will it happen again?

Commentary

The weird creature effects are the main draw here, and they’re very well done. I assume they’re mostly CGI, but they blend right in. Not all the creatures look the same, which makes it just that much more fun to watch. 

Be careful what you order online!

2024 The Man with No Mouth

• Directed by: Mr. Friend
• Written by: Mr. Friend
• Stars:  Animated. Voiced by Mr. Friend
• Run Time: 9:37
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3OrnL79_4Q

What Happens

Little Timothy’s not very smart. He’s up late doing his division homework, and he just can’t get the answers. Much to his surprise, a strange man with no mouth shows up outside his window and wants in. Timothy’s not that dumb; he doesn’t let him in. Still, the man gives him the answers to his homework. 

The next night? Well, now they’re friends. What could go wrong?

Commentary

This one is done with stop-motion, in the style of an old VHS tape. It’s very retro, and it gets all the aesthetics just right. We have to wonder just how “not very smart” little Timothy is, but then we find out. 

The ending wasn’t a huge surprise, but it was fun anyway!

2024 Lady Parts

• Directed by: Ariel McCleese
• Written by: Ariel McCleese
• Stars:  Ava Hase, Liv Mai, Jake Holley
• Run Time: 14:45
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTxbjqzp8Gg

What Happens

Iris, a high school girl, has an erotic dream about her friend Ellie, and it makes her wet. Very wet. This can’t be normal, can it? She decides to go to the big party, where she hooks up with Ethan. She prefers Ellie, but Ethan’s right there, so why not?

There’s nothing wrong with getting a little moist, right?

Wrong. 

Commentary

This is well filmed and looks good, but they don’t really try to explain it. It’s most likely an allegory for awkward teenage years, but… wow. I want to know what was going through Ethan’s mind as this all played out. 

It’s very weird. Good, but weird!

2024 Chomp

• Directed by: Cricket Arrison, Suki-Rose Simakis
• Written by: Cricket Arrison, Suki-Rose Simakis
• Stars: Cricket Arrison, DeMorge Brown, Kate Freund
• Run Time: 9 Minutes
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdjR7A_szGI

What Happens

We watch as two newscasters read us the evening news. They do the usual witty banter and then sign off. We then cut to a woman in the dark who repeats everything they say. She’s a little weird. On the next broadcast, we see that she’s an intern at the station. 

Things are about to get a lot weirder…

Commentary

We don’t get much of an explanation in this one, but it’s pretty clear what’s going on. It’s well shot and looks good; the dialogue isn’t great, but that’s probably intentional to show how “fake” the news reporting is. 

I’d like to think this was all in the studio next door to “Late Night with the Devil.”

It’s great!