The Films of 2023
The Sprayer
A beautifully animated stop-motion short film.
Dir. Farnoosh Abedi
Iran
Sonhood
Dir. Eric White, Terrell Case
United States
11.26min
“150 Copies of the “Little Mac” special edition of “Mac and Me” were sold in Happy Meals at participating McDonald’s restaurants in 1990 before being discontinued for complaints of alien nudity. This wasn’t the only disturbing thing on that VHS release. The trailer for a film called Sonhood preceded the feature film. That film was never released. Here is the trailer for Sonhood, unearthed after three decades”.
The Beast
Dir. Joris Laquittant
France
On vacation on his family in the countryside, a young city boy is forced to participate in wild boar hunts in the cornfields. Naive and fearful, he lives in constant fear of a mysterious beast that adults say would live in the countryside.
Turno de Noche: The Wrong Place
Dir. Juanjo Avi
Spain
19.59Min.
J, the Scrap Yard Watchman, is on duty one more night, accompanied by El Jefe, when a serial killer and the victim the clumsily let escape arrive at his humble junkyard.
Marvin the Vampire
Dir. Adrian León
25Min.
It’s Marvin’s first day at a support group for vampires where they discuss personal problems as well as bigger ones – such as the climate crisis.
NIGHTMARE IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD
Dir. Michael Dorfman, Maxwell Dorfman, Emmett Dorfman
United States
2.04Min.
Two kids go looking for an epic Halloween party.
Ritual
Dir. Miguel Delgado, Daniel Lavín González
Spain
2Min
There are rituals to open doors to other worlds beyond our own… but you can’t control what comes in from the other side.
LASAGNA
Dir. Joe DeMarchi
United States
7.30Min
Join Steven Wood as he prepares his famous 3-layer lasagna, featuring a step by step recipe that’s sure to impress at your next dinner party. Just don’t plan on leftovers, they’ll be fighting for the last bite!
SALAMANDER
Dir. Paul Rothman
United States – Michigan film
13.40Min
A guy walks into a bar before closing time and overstays his welcome.
SKINWALKER
Dir. Daimein Parmelee
United States
1.34Min
A teenager left alone while his mother is out of town realizes an eerie discovery…
BEHOLDER
Dir. Noah Thulin
United States – Regional
4.17Min
A video stream shows an entity that begins calling to the viewers.
BELOW SNAKES
Dir. Noah Thulin, Cooper Arent
United States – Regional
5Min.
A traveling merchant is ambushed by a group of bandits.
They find out that one man’s treasure is another’s curse.
SKITTER
Dir. Ted Hogeman
United States – Regional
3.09Min.
A man decides to investigate strange skittering noises coming from his attic. What could go wrong? After all, life isn’t a horror movie, right?
AGORAPHOBIA
Dir. Danny Seymour
United Kingdom
7.09Min
A man begins to feel trapped in his small apartment
DEUS IN ABSENTIA
Dir. Gonzalo Reverte
Mexico
3.29Min
Jerry, an unemployed young man who loves rock music and horror films, is struggling to get a job. In the meantime, he manages to get food in an unconventional way.
I’LL BE SEEING YOU
Dir. Jürgen Kling
Germany
3.39Min.
Stop-Motion-Animation Music video for Jughead´s Revenge
we witness a zombie, freshly risen from the grave, going for a nighttime Skate session. Following the motto “Skate and Destroy”, he is shredding thru the graveyard leaving a track of destruction behind him and on himself.
BUCKETT’S BRAND NEW BAR
Dir. Arooj Shah
United Kingdom
10.54
A sullen chocoholic finds herself deluded by a luring new chocolate bar. Once the bar finishes, will she be chewing more than just her nails?
THE BURIAL
Dir. Rasmus Erik Lindkvist
Sweden
2.52Min.
In the depths of the forest, a priest carries out a mysterious ceremony, while company graces his presence.
THE PAINTING
Dir. Krause Cruz
United States
10.53
During an interrogation, Scott must fend for his life against Klein, however, something else might be lurking behind.
VLOG #1
Dir. Nicholas Bricolas
United States
12.57Min
“Vlog #1” is a found footage satirical horror comedy about todays vlog culture.
Scary Hand
Dir. M S Foree
United States
.45sec
A boy’s curiosity gets the better of him.
THE DANCE OF THE NAIN ROUGE
Dir. Eric Millikin
United States – Regional-ish
3Min.
“The Dance of the Nain Rouge” is an experimental decolonial Detroit demonology deepfake dream dance documentary, based on the legend of the Nain Rouge (“Red Dwarf”) of Detroit. According to folklore and urban legend, the Nain Rouge is a supernatural shape-shifting native being who was brutally attacked by xenophobic colonists and has since been seen dancing as an omen of successful rebellions by the oppressed, having reportedly been seen before events such as the victory of Chief Pontiac at the Battle of Bloody Run in 1763 and the 1967 Detroit Rebellion against racism and police brutality. Besides short stature and redness, the Nain Rouge is known for dance, metamorphosis, and cross-species collaboration, having according to “Myths and Legends of Our Own Lands” (1896) “directed the dance of black cats” and “had power to change shape.”
The video, soundtrack, and voiceover are all created with custom artificial intelligence systems, programmed and trained on a hacked-up second-hand Macbook laptop to minimize environmental destruction and maximize class warfare.
The video is based on an AI trained on Victorian era public domain photos of spiritualists and factory workers, 20th century dance, science fiction, and horror film stills, as well as microscopic images of red blood cells and telescopic images of red dwarf stars. The soundtrack is created in part from an AI trained on stethoscopic recordings of human, carnivorous plant, and fungus organs, and also radio waves from space. The narration is a prose poem written by an AI programmed to start from the first line of “The Nain Rouge” from “Myths and Legends of Our Own Lands” (1896), end with the last line of “The Nain Rouge” from “Legends of Le Detroit” (1884), and the text in between is based on other contemporary “Red” texts: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales” (1892 collection), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Round the Red Lamp: Being Facts and Fancies of Medical Life” (1894), Leonora Blanche Alleyne’s “The Red Fairy Book” (1890), Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage” (1895), “The Grand Grimoire” also known as “The Red Dragon” (likely from the 1800s, claims to be from 1521), and Karl Marx’s “Das Kapital” volumes 1-3 (1867-1894).
3:00 AM
Dir. Ricardo Albarran
United States
5:24Min
A college student’s night in a computer lab takes a sinister turn when unexpected events begin to unfold at 3:00AM.
Cicada: I Was a Teenage Horror Movie!
Dir. Keil Orion Troisi
United States
13.22Min.
In 1997, awkward pre-teens with a VHS camera struggle to make an ambitious vampire movie, each playing multiple roles, spilling dimestore blood in a slew of murder scenes, and testing testicular limits with a homemade zip-line setpiece. Now edited as a comedy, it is at once a bloody twist on vampire lore and an endearing portrait of young filmmakers coming of “rage.”
Under The Book: A Story Told In Gorey
Dir. John Dimes
United States
1.55Min
An animated piece performed in the Edward Gorey style of an indescribably haunted book.
TASTE TESTER
Dir. Tyler Zickafoose
United States – Flint
7.21Min.
What would you do for a hundred dollars?
ROADKILL JAMBOREE
Dir. Meghan G Graham
United States
5.51Min.
Roadkill Jamboree is a stop-motion/ 2D hybrid music video about how roads and drivers affect animals, featuring music from the ska-punk band Suburban Legends. This grim yet humorous story centers around a band of five undead animals encompassing various species along Interstate Highway 5. Each animal in the band represents a different type of creature native to California while embodying different reasons why roadkill happens.
LOVE AT FIRSRT BITE
Dir. Maria Gian
United States
2.48Min.
After the loss of his husband, Richard encounters an eerily familiar zombie.
YOKAI IN MY HOUSE
Dir. Kassandra Valavani
United Kingdom
2.18Min.
Miyako a girl in her 20’s inherits a house in Japan. Unbeknown to her it is
haunted by the Mokumokuren. Will she survive the night or will she succumb to the
same fate as her predecessor?
Do you ever feel like somethings watching you, somewhere in the dark?
TOTAL LIQUIDATION
Dir. Ugo De Gregorio, Luis Patard, Andoni Maury
France
18.59
A young man is slumped on a couch watching TV. The commercials are running on the screen when a symbol looking exactly like the logo of one of the ad suddenly appears on his skin. The young man quickly understands that the marketing products around him have an effect on his body. He then tries to escape desperately.
THE BREAKUP
Dir. Bruno Mattos Rubeiz
Brazil
3.40Min
Breaking up is hard to do.
VIOLET BUTTERFIELD: MAKEUP ARTIST OF THE DEAD
Dir. Brooke H. Cellars
United States
12.43
“Violet Butterfield” weaves a captivating narrative centered around a unique protagonist—an enigmatic mortician beautician who goes beyond the ordinary realms of her profession. Set in the eerie yet alluring atmosphere of her mortuary, the story follows Violet as she anticipates a calm and uneventful evening.
However, her expectations are quickly shattered when a new client enters her macabre domain. What unfolds is a revelation that challenges conventional notions of existence and self-expression. As Violet engages with her visitor, she unveils a profound truth—some individuals believe that their truest and most authentic life can only be lived posthumously.
Through its darkly groovy aesthetic and unconventional premise, “Violet Butterfield” delves into the complexities of personal identity, the pursuit of self-actualization, and the transformative power of embracing one’s true nature. It invites viewers to question societal norms and reflect on the boundaries of living an authentic life, even in the face of mortality.
THROUGH THE CRACKS
Dir. Dylan Cole Black
United States
7:45Min.
A man avoids a ghostly apparition that follows him throughout his life.
KINDLING
Dir. Casey Beusterien
United States
2:08Min.
A woman surviving alone in the woods seems to have finally killed a beast that has been stalking her by setting her house on fire with it inside. The next morning, she finds footsteps leading away from the ashes into the woods, and prepares for their next encounter.
THE WALK
Dir. Pål Gustavsen
Norway
4.24
Its a cold autumn evening, and a man goes for a late-night walk on a desolate backroad. But he’s not alone.
RED RABBIT
Dir. Rory Kerr
Ireland
4.50
An anthropomorphic rabbit struggles to find peace and relaxation at home. These attempts are thwarted by a destructive shoulder devil, who takes glee in ruining any chance of tranquility.
THE SOUNDS AT NIGHT
Dir. Aaron Garcia
United States
10.55Min
Alone for the night, David wakes up to unusual sounds and noises in his home.
YOU’RE IT
Dir. Herb Cremer, Joe Cremer
United States
6.51Min.
A group of children decide to play a game of hide and seek to alleviate their boredom but nothing could prepare them for the outcome of this twisted game.
‘Neath
Dir. Christopher Flippo
United States
3Min.
A man finds something sinister underneath his bed. Spooky!
THE PHOTOGRAPH
Dir. Mary Figario, Carlos J Benitez
United States
4.15Min
A little girl becomes aware of a sinister presence in the floor vent of her home.
MY RELIGIOUS FAMILY
Dir. Brandon Hicks
Canada
3.10Min.
A Hand-Drawn retailing of a child’s religious upbringing in a religious cult – with a twist ending.
SERIAL ENCOUNTERS
Dir. Catherine Côté-Moïsescu, Jeremy Glavac, Le Zoo Cinema
Canada
2.20Min.
SERIAL ENCOUNTERS is a series of interviews on our favorite serial killers. Today, the team visits Jason Voorhees to know what happened to the 80’s star after his successful movie career.
SINCOPAT
Dir. Pol Diggler
Spain
13.30Min
Ona, a creative executive of a large company, is about to launch the latest technological revolution into the market: a device that allows listening to music directly inside the brain.
IT REMAINS
Dir. John Benjamin
United States – Local
14.15Min.
DRACULA’S SUPER SCARY HALLOWEEN!
Dir. Kevin Maher
United States
5.24Min.
A new Halloween special, that’s super scary!
Directed by Kevin Maher and Joe Dator
Edited and animated by Paul Murphy
Art by Joe Dator
Music by Adam Bernstein
Sound Design by Rebecca Seidel
Written, Produced & Performed by Kevin Maher
copyright 2023.
THE DRAWING
Dir. Jay Salahi
United States
2.59
After waking from a nightmare, artist Scarlet is pursued by a malevolent figure eerily reminiscent of her latest drawing.
CLOSING TIME
Dir. Hector Perez-Aguilar, Ryan Wlliam Samuel Johnson
United States
4.30Min.
When an obnoxious truck driver makes a late-night stop at a middle of nowhere gas station and stays past the store’s closing time, he quickly learns that choosing which snack to buy is the least of his worries.
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 