My last round of shorts.

Chickenboy (2024): When a lonely farmer accidentally makes a chicken-human hybrid by jerking off in the chicken coop, he must decide what their fate will be. Directed by and starring Matthew Rush — as both the farmer and the chickenboy — this is something else, a world where humans and chicken can create something together that is ready for sideshows. Are those still a thing? I want them to be a thing.

Human Resource (2025): A financial horror comedy, this is all about Shae, a millennial HR manager who has brought her total self to work, giving everything to her beloved company. In return, she has been given purpose, friends, bountiful perks and an on-staff barista. But when the market crashes and her company is taken over, will she still matter? As a private equity firm begins to restructure, Shae soon learns that by saving the company, she may be damning their souls. This short, directed by Henry Chaisson and written by Max Coyne-Green, rings so true to me after a week spent at a company retreat. I went through a similar ripping of a company to pieces and I still have PTSD. Thanks for making me have flashbacks.

Tether (2025): On the first day of her job manning an isolated space station all by herself, Mickie (Geffri Maya) receives an emergency transmission and has to decide whether or not she should put her career on the line by answering it. This has the voice of Ming-Na Wen as another captain and offers several lessons for viewers and the lead. This was directed and written by Meredith Berg. It could be a full movie with the universe that has been created here.

Wake (2024): Directed and written by Sean Carter, this is one dark and tight short. As a hurricane grows in power outside the hospital, two nurses have one last job before evacuating. They must put a DOA corpse on ice in the downstairs morgue as the hospital floods. However, that will be anything but easy, as one of them is the caretaker for their grandmother, who claims that the dead woman is the same person who stole her purse. Man, this was awesome!

Slow (2025): A field recorder meets a sinister being that can change her perception of time. How can you run when your ability to feel reality has gone away? Directed and written by Rebecca Berrih, this is the kind of thing I often worry about walking into.

Arson (2025): Once a popular boy band — maybe — Actual Size — Drake (Jai Benoit), Nick (Thomas Johnston), Leo (Jeff Pearson), and Kenny (Jerik Thibodeaux) — can’t seem to reach the level of stardom they think they had. Or maybe feel that they deserve. Stuck gigging at pizza joints and dive bars, they sell their souls to Ms. Black (Olivia Peck) for success but forget to read the contract. Directed by Erin Broussard, who wrote it with Donny Broussard, this balances some awesome music numbers with plenty of humor and practical effects. Awesome!

OK/NOTOK (2024): Loretta (Bairavi Manoharan), a working-class British Asian woman, has a new man in her life. Unfortunately, he soon breaks down and she learns that even customer service in the future will be AI. Maybe it’s easier to just have a robot that doesn’t work sitting on the couch in silence than a partner that doesn’t understand you. Directed and written by Pardeep Sahota, this film creates a future universe that feels so close to now that it’s naturally where we’re going. Do androids dream of electronic sheep or do they get sent back in for repairs? This film attempts to answer that question. I’m not sure what I would do.

Daughters of Evil (2024): In 1966, a girl group — Mary Sue (Ariel Ditta), Mary Jane (Natasha Pascetta) and Mary Beth (Jenessa Michelle Soto) — consults a spirit board to come up with the best band name ever: The Daughters of Evil. Then they got possessed by His Unholy Darkness Beleth, who can play a mean tambourine, and who became their manager. Directed by Pascetta, who also wrote it, and Adam James Taylor, this is shot as if it’s a YouTube video and has some fun moments, even if I’ve been spoiled by Late Night With the Devil and Pater Noster and the Mission of Light, two movies that walk the same left hand path and do it with more style. Still, this is a fun watch.

Howl If You Love Me (2023): This new short from John R. Dilworth, the beloved creator of Courage the Cowardly Dog, is a romantic horror comedy about a man named Jim and his werewolf girlfriend Jules. Werewolf hunters show up and almost ruin everything buty our couple figures it out. This world is so sweet and nice that the Twin Towers never got hit by a plane. And there are werewolves! How can I go to this place? Are they taking applications? Do I need a Real ID? Are all werewolves this nice? Man, I have so many questions. One more: when do we get more of this? This seems like such a fun idea for a series and we always need more cartoons.

The Flacalta Effect (2024): Keesha (Rochée Jeffrey) and Toya (Tristina Lee) are black sisters whose house is being infiltrated by the undead who have been created by an anti-aging diet drug called Flacalta. Now, the beautiful undead are ruining their lives. Yet Keesha doesn’t really want to live, because as she sees it, being a black woman in America was never that great. Toya is an optimist who wants a better world and to have an orgasm. Directed and written by  Jeffrey, this definitely needs to be a full-length film. And they both need to survive!

Sempre Avanti (2023): Two U.S. soldiers — known as tunnel rats — plunge into a suspected enemy combatant tunnel system during the Vietnam War only to awaken unparalleled horrors. Like Shelter Half, this was directed by the Barber Brothers, written by Nathaniel Barber and shot by Matthew Barber. Both brothers appear in the story, unlike the above mentioned short.

This is appropriately claustrophobic and has a monster in it that looks like it was a lot like the one in Shelter Half, which if that’s true, props to these guys for extending their budget. It’s less a story than a framework to get said monster up against some soldiers, but it looks great and would probably make a great extended film.

The Traveler and the Troll (2025): Directed and written by Adam Murray, this has a traveler who has stopped to rest in a haunted forest. They soon learn they are not alone and have stumbled upon the lair of a terrifying troll who demands gifts for passage.

With no coin or treasure to give, the traveler must answer three of the troll’s riddles to survive the night and leave the forest with their soul intact.

Riddle 1: I have no fangs, yet I bite: The wind.

Riddle 2: I rise from the sea, I rest in the hills only to rise again from the sea: The sun.

The troll doesn’t have a third riddle because no one gets these right. The traveler makes the troll sad because, well, he is so used to these questions and doesn’t come off as frightening when he has memory lapses.

The filmmakers said that they were inspired by Legend, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. You can see that in this as well as a great mix of animation, puppetry and live action. Troll law doesn’t work out as well as the steel of a sword in the end, though. I totally loved this!

Her House (2024): Gina (Taylor Joree Scorse) and her estranged mother Helen (Gloria Gruber) have to go back to the home of Gina’s grandmother (and Helen’s mother) Jane (Lexa Gluck) to put things in order after the funeral. What’s my first rule of horror? Don’t go back home and definitely don’t go back home if you hate your family. Directed by Will Lee, who wrote it with Ian Hedman, this has the grandmother wanting to take Gina and Helen revealing where this cycle of mother and daughter trauma has begun. This short does so much in ten minutes. Definitely hunt it down and watch it.

Forever Yours (2024): Following a devastating accident that leaves the love of her life, Sebastian (James Tuft), paralyzed, Valeria (Andrea Ariel) becomes his caretaker. But is she devoted or obsessed? Directed by Elliott Louis McKee, who wrote the story with Andrea Ariel, this really is something else, a movie told by Valeria, who tells the entire story of how they met and we learn just what she tells us. I have to say, at least the human got it and Benny the dog was safe. I can forgive human being violence, but Benny is a good boy.

All Kinds of Animals (2024): Hannah (Carmen Sage) is an experienced hiker who is working her way up to the summit when something unexpected happens. Directed and written by Becky Sayers, this brings up the question of whether most women would rather face a man or a bear in the woods. Or maybe the guys should worry about our heroine and her bear mace. What a great and unexpected close to this! I feel like I see things like this happen on true crime shows all the time — often to women — so I am not sad at all when I watch it happen to men in movies. Ladies, get your revenge, at least in cinema. Seems like mom was all in on this plan too!

Are You Fucking Kidding Me?! (2025): When a broke birthday party clown named Bobo (Zachary Solomon) finds out in the middle of the gig from hell that his mother is on her deathbed, he has to figure out how to get home. “Stupid, we’re going to use magic!” is a great line in this. Also: Laura (Rivkah Reyes), the other clown who randomly called him a homophobic name with a hard g — wow. Everyone is against Bobo and why is he even at this party dressed like Porky Wiggles the pig and why are kids punching him Directed by Zen Pace and written by Zachary Solomon, this is the kind of short that I love. Strange, otherworldly and weirder as it goes on. I had to do a birthday party once where I was hired as a pro wrestler — which I was — and there was no ring. I just had to come out in full costume and talk about wrestling. Another time, I had to do one and actually have a match in a public park and get thrown into a tree. None of those things are as upsetting as the things that happen in this.

You can watch this and many other films at CFF by buying a pass on their website. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting reviews and articles and updating my Letterboxd list of watched films.

Another round of shorts? Let’s watch them.

Is That a Mime (2024): First off, yes, that is a mime. Second, if you encounter a mime in the park and it appears to be a killing machine, the chances are very good that, indeed, that mime is a killing machine. Directed and written by Phil Cheney, this film stars Lucy Gamades and Michael Spencer as the couple who encounter the mime, played by Conor Sullivan, who the credits claim will return soon. Look, if I see that guy, I’m going to just be cool and avoid him, OK? Mimes are straight up terrifying, more like Pinhead, and being forced to hang out with Kirk Cameron for an entire afternoon, locked in a car with the windows up and no air conditioning.

Frankenbabes From Beyond The Grave! (2025): Directed and written by Andrew Bowser (Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls), this film features Dr. Channard (Dana Ashbrook) and Father Timothy Vanes (Jimmi Simpson) grabbing the bodies of dead dancers out of the wreckage of a traffic accident involving a traveling burlesque show on the way back from the Leather Dommy Mommy Con. As you can imagine, the ladies get the upper hand instead of being subservient slaces. The Frankenbabes are played by adult star Penny Barber, who is Brain; AVN Cosplayer of the Year Bunni Black (Stripe); Melissa Drew and Hex Hypoxia (Twisted Sister); Stephanie Michelle (Stitches); adult actress Little Puck (Jumper); Cheyenne Wise (Patches) and Savannah Solo (Bob). Think Frankenhooker but with more ladies, more neon and almost more gore. Perfect.

Pocketman (2023): In director Ericka Clevenger and writer Alex Miller’s super short — one minute! — film, a wedding is terrorized by a supernatural being who can steal things from pockets. While men mostly are the ones set to pay — cargo shorts, you know? — women do love having comfy pants. When the wedding ring. However, if the item gets stolen from a pocket, the monster must pay. A fun and sweet idea done well!

You’re an Angel (2024): The most terrifying aspect of this short is that it is based on a true story. Directed and written by Zachary Eglinton, this film begins with a couple (Avital Ash and Brian McElhaney) making out in the back of a taxi, regardless of what the driver (Zachary Eglinton) says, even when his story becomes heartbreaking. Even the strange appearance of an onion in the bedroom can’t break the mood but when it’s all over, you may wonder: why are there so many jars of piss? Really. Why? I never thought I would see this or write that, but there you go. Thanks Zachary!

Striya (2024): Directed and written by Paige Campbell, this is a Jewish folk horror story shot entirely in Yiddish. In the distant past, a town wanted to put a teenage girl named Gele to death and wouldn’t change their mind, even when her father begged for her life. However, when she escapes and makes her way to the home of her rabbi, we learn why the town was so concerned. There hasn’t been much folk horror outside of the tales of the Golem associated with this religion, and I’d love to see more.

Vote for Wyem (2025): Now this is a creative short. Director and writer Benjamin Percy has created what appears to be a political attack ad that soon turns into a horrific dread. Perfectly filmed, edited and voiced, this is such a quick hit that I watched it more than once. What a blast!

Sewing Machine (2025): Directed and written by Tyler Hagen, this short finds Heather being gifted a mysterious sewing machine, one that will undoubtedly help her finish her latest collection of clothes, but you know, this is a horror short, so that machine will force her to tear her body to pieces. Don’t take free sewing machines left on your doorstep. Add that to the advice I have given you. Great poster too!

The Creature of Blood Lake (2024): Directed and written by Dylan A. Young, this film has three minutes to sell you on an 80s SOV throwback about friends who go to Blood Lake to find out why so many people have died. This does not seem like a good idea on their part. They find that it isn’t a human killer out there, but if the title of this movie is to be believed, a creature. I absolutely adored how this looked and would love for it to become more than just this trailer. My love for shot-on-video is next to my love of staying up all night and writing about movies.

Brick Boy (2025): Directed by Scott Vasey, who co-wrote the script with Caleb Yeaton, this film tells the story of a young girl being bullied at school. It’s actually pretty intense and reminds me of just how happy I am to be old and never have to go back to being in class again. But ah, how does this get the tagline “You’ll shit bricks?” Because when she goes home, she turns her Legos into a building brick golem and gets her revenge, which is pretty creative, both for her and the filmmakers.

C.U.N.T. (See You Next Tuesday) (2025): Two mothers take their daughters to the park on a Tuesday for a monkey bar competition, but man, this ends up being a swearing contest. Points to director and writer Gabriela Perez Figuereo for going all out to offend anyone who doesn’t like dirty words.

The Princess of Coyote Palms (2025): “In 1964, a woman desperate to join her friends in the ranks of motherhood prays for a miracle under the critical gaze of a sardonic narrator in the sleepy desert town of Coyote Palms.” With a sell line like that, you just have to watch this. How delightful is it that this film by Stephen Vanderpool and Danielle McRae Spisso pays such tribute to the Twilight Zone while being very much its own thing? I had a blast with this one.

Eldritch Karaoke (2025): Directed and written by Joe Loftus, this animated short follows a girl (Feena Glynn) as she embarks on a journey to escape her past. But then, she’s hit by a car and descends into a chaotic musical afterlife along with two crows (Andrew Dickson and Liam O’Brien). While death isn’t the end, I don’t think anyone expects it to be like this, a world of song beyond the veil. I guess you really do join the choir invisible.

I Dreamt of Being an Actress (2023): I love this quote from this film’s director and writer, Isabel Nora, on Letterboxd: “Two years ago, I challenged myself to make a piece with my sister in one room, with no dialogue and no budget.

This film is, and was intended to be, a feeling—made for those who are continuing to navigate a dream that is so vast and intimate, you are lost within and without it; that no matter how hard you try, you can’t separate or remove yourself from the dream. It’s love, obsession, longing, pain, hope, and it’s you.”

This movie was gorgeous. I’m so glad that I watched it.

French Lessons (2025): Directed and written by Kyle Garrett Greenberg and Anna Maguire, this movie has “film executive Kyle and filmmaker Arran rendez-vous for a tête à tête in this crème de la crème of Cinéma Verité.” They also made the movie Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded. This feels like it would pair very nicely with that film.

Wrong Guy (2025): Vince is a disabled guy, and for some reason, everyone confuses him with other disabled people they know. Someone thinks that he’s Ian Michael Smith from Simon Birch, which ends up getting him a free vacation with his friend Rosie. Directed by Brett Maline, who also stars in it, this was a charming film.

Skeeter (2024): Chris McInroy gets me every time. Actually, he’s made me physically sick a few of those times, no complaints. That’s because his movies are always fun, like this one, where someone has been raised by mosquitoes. If you’ve seen his films Guts, We Joined a Cult and We Forgot About the Zombies, you know what you’re in for here. Thank you again, Chris, for shocking me and reminding me to never eat popcorn—or any food—during your movies.

Agoraphobia (2025): Directed by Ashley Wong, this is a music video for the band Lillian. I’m always intrigued by how art reflects agoraphobia, as my grandmother had it and didn’t leave the house for several decades. Later, through therapy and prescriptions, she was finally free and could go places. Thanks for making this!

VHX (2024): Directed and written by Scott Ampleford and Alisa Stern, this film features a collection of VHS tapes gathering dust on a shelf, wondering why some are picked over others, only for one of them to come back as a zombie. This made me miss the times when all I had were tapes with handwritten labels, bootlegs of movies that were nowhere near 4K, fuzzy blasts of weirdness, mix tapes, utter strangeness that could fall apart at any moment because VHS was so fragile. I loved this!

Open Wide (2025): Phoebe is a Catholic girl who wants to be bad. Ron and Vera are a swinging couple. A dating app has brought them together for a night of drinking, music and probably some awkward MFF action. Things seem to be going well, with them both treating her like an object of lust — exactly what she wanted — until the 8-year-old son of the couple arrives and demands to be fed. And grandma also shows up. Directed by Sam Fox, this totally should be a full-length movie. It was just getting going when things had to move quickly to the conclusion.

You can watch this and many other films at CFF by buying a pass on their website. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting reviews and articles and updating my Letterboxd list of watched films.