The GenreBlast Film Festival is entering its sixth year of genre film goodness. A one-of-a-kind film experience created for both filmmakers and film lovers to celebrate genre filmmaking in an approachable environment, it has been described by Movie Maker Magazine as a “summer camp for filmmakers.”

Over the next few days, I’ll be reviewing several movies from this fest, based in the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, Virginia. This year, there are 14 feature films and 87 short films from all over the world. Weekend passes are only $65 and you can get them right here.

In the Shadow of God (2022): Rachel (Sara Canning) has returned home after the death of her father and discovers that there may be something supernatural under the trap door inside their home.

Directed and written by Brian Sepanzyk, In the Shadow of God transcends its 18 minute runtime and low budget to deliver a film that could easily surpass so many modern horror films. There’s a real sense of absolute dread in this, as well as the rapidly deteroriating vision of her father on the series of videotapes that she watches. He didn’t just have a heart attack; his fingers were bruised and torn from what looks like an attempt to escape something with the house. Now, everyone that comes near it is overwhelmed by visions that can only be ended with death.

I really think this could be a full-length but if this is all we get, it’s still pretty great.