WTF got married and here are more shorts.

Beef Creek (2024): Occultist Mr. Petrulo runs a New York-style deli in middle of nowhere Wyoming with Horace, Sandra, Lily and Ralphie. That’s the quick description, and as I always write, hijinks ensue. In this pilot, Ralphie falls into a pocket dimension inside the deli’s dumpster and is seduced by a trash-dwelling succubus — “horny dumpster” — who lures in “white male saviors” to steal their souls. Horace has a past with this demon, one that almost ruined his relationship, but sometimes being a hero means getting hit in the penis. I absolutely loved every minute of this — it feels like a great Adult Swim show and has fully realized characters that I want to know more about. When do we get more?

Endzgiving (2025): Directed by Tina Carbone, who co-wrote the script with Patrick T. Dorsey, this is the tale of friends getting together after the end of the world. Will even brought a pie, but forgot to tell everyone that he was bitten by a zombie on the way over. He has around six minutes before he becomes one himself, but he’d like to spend one more meal with his best buddies and get some quiet before he wants to eat them. This is a cute idea, has a great cast and is well-made. It flies by and remains entertaining throughout!

A Divine Comedy: What the Hell (2025): When even Dante’s classic Hell is falling to pieces, what are we to do? Well, if you’re a harpy named Charlotte, you leave this plane behind and try to get to Earth. But there’s still the matter of her stalker ex Asterion, who keeps bothering her and wants to know what she did with the egg they made together. I loved this — it has the animation style of a Fleischer Studios cartoon at times and has some wonderful music. A joyous effort and what a wonderful lead!

Randy as Himself (2025): A Hollywood production crew comes to West Texas to recreate the murder of a local woman. Using locals to reenact the crime means that old emotions are brought back. Directed and written by Margaret Miller, this proves that even during a blood-soaked reenactment, you can find true love. This film has such a unique look and while its fully contained, it would really make a great full-length that could go deeper into how the media reports on small towns, reducing their trauma into content that plays all night on Pluto channels.

A Forest (2024): The second Isabel Nola movie I watched at CFF — I Dreamt of Being an Actress is the other — this is about a couple taking part in the hunt for a cryptid. There’s also an alien baby, documentary-style footage to introduce it and great sound design throughout. Nola did so much of the work on this and from everything I’ve seen at CFF, I’m going to have to start hunting down more of her work.

Beast of the Northwoods (2025): In a rural northern community, a monster — well, a beast — born of radioactive fallout has developed a taste for human flesh. After the discovery of multiple victims, Sheriff Bob Jenson calls in young game warden Joe Miller to help identify — and stop — the creature responsible. With the help of local guide Elaine Skogland — Ms. Elaine Skogland — they go into the woods, ready to stop the monster. Directed by Harrison Reeder and written by Laura Berg, this gets the look and feel of 1950s science fiction right. And yes — that’s Mystery Science Theater‘s Trace Beaulieu, who was Dr. Clayton Forrester and Crow T. Robot.

Empty Jars (2024): After the last two shorts I watched, this brought back the love I have for film. Director Guillermo Ribbeck Sepúlveda has crafted a fantasy world where a woman (Ana Burgos) deals with the loud guests at her hostel by freeing a ghost from a jar, a spirit that, well, fills her with something else, giving her an experience that she hopes to replicate again and again. Yet, as this movie shares with us, the dead are even less trustworthy than the living. What a gorgeous looking and feeling short. I can’t wait to see what else Sepúlveda can do!

Pumpkin Guts (2024): Directed and written by Bryan M. Ferguson, this leans in hard to the John Carpenter influence in looks, feel, story and music. There’s a Pumpkin Pitcher who destroys your pumpkin and then curses your life. This has such a strong feel to it, as it even has the giant phone that yes, I can assure younger readers that we really had and used at one point in the past. Plus, this has more than just pumpkin guts, it has some real ones, too. I guess there’s a Haddonfield, even in England.

Krakens Maw (2024): A stubborn young metal musician named Taylor (Rose McAvoy) has been struggling to meet her mentor, Theodore McKinnis (Andrew Carl), a man who recorded what she believes to be the heaviest album ever. After trying as hard as she can to get through to him, he agrees to let her be part of his next project. It’s not what she thought, though. He’s found Atlantis and is ready to battle Nazis and Satanist ninjas to get there. Is she ready to board his ship, the Black Mary, or does she just want to be a metal star? Is rock and roll dead? This was great — what a speech about the adventure to Atlantis!

Manny Wolfe (2024): Directed by Trevor Neuhoff, who wrote it with Sean Kennedy Moore, this movie hits on so many things that I love. Manny Wolfe is trying to get into Hollywood, but as a werewolf, he’s already typecast. He wants more and yet even the biggest projects just have him howling at the moon, something that real werewolves refuse to do. I want this to be a full movie so badly; I love the idea that Manny wants to be in a regular movie and for no one to wonder why a lycanthrope randomly shows up. This may have been one of my favorite films of CFF.

The Confection (2025):Two friends — Lisa (Simone Norman) and Chuck (Alex Ptak) — are just goofing off when a freak accident kills him. Lisa is unable to process what has just happened, but maybe his ghost can help. I love the tagline for this: “What if your friend died in the stupidest way possible?” Director and writer Christopher Jason Bell has put together one strange story here. After all, how many people die by radio waves that send them crashing face-first into a cake? Also: This has some incredible camera work near the end as the woods around the house seemingly are alive and start to envelope Lisa in a Bava-lit nightmare.

The Key Club (2024): Val seems to be hitting it off with Chad on their first date. You may find him cringe, but that’s the whole point. She gets him back home — Fireball roofie — and that’s when the dating torture begins. Directed by Lee Boxleitner and Sam Boxleitner and written by Lee Boxleitner and star Vanessa Branda, this is one of the first movies where I’ve seen a drill torturing someone be followed up with a tampon.

The Vanity (2025): “In the near future, a young couple makes their living as influencers for a new social media platform: THE VANITY.” That’s all there is to do once AI takes your job, I guess. Trust me, I worry enough about this, as I write hundreds of words every day for a dwindling audience of people who no longer care about words. Directed by Megan Rosati and written by Evan Watkins, this has its leads being forced to choose between creating content or one another. How many streams a day can these guys do in a day, anyway?

You Wake to Find Yourself Alone in the Woods (2024): Directed and written by Brad McHargue, this has a hiker lost in the woods with only an omniscient narrator for company. Oh yes — there’s also a slasher villain. You know how they love those woods. There are also bears and mountain lions and moose. Just a moose. “Are they dangerous?” asks the man. “Maybe,” responds the voice. Also: If I had a voice narrating at me while I tried to pee, I’d pee my pants. Also also: The bad guy has a mask that looks a lot like Kane. What a fun concept and film! I loved it!

Sick Day (2024): A burnt out assistant has the perfect plan to get sent home for being sick. Then, a swarm of locusts invades Los Angeles. Directed and written by Hughes Ransom, this doesn’t just look good. It sounds amazing with a really strong soundtrack. The budget for this had to be crazy as it looks like a big budget movie. Also: Billy Jr. is the kind of boss I’ve worked for in marketing for years and man, this was triggering. But that’s OK! This was fun!

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.

DiMore shorts? Yes!

Bloody Marian (2025): A bartender with a bit of an attitude faces a significant challenge when a customer arrives whose taste for drink can’t be stopped. Directed and written by Sommar Ashleigh Boulware, this film has a great visual look, reminiscent of Sin City, and a fun premise.

Dead Pet Shark (2025): Directed and written by Misha Gankin, this was inspired by a real-life incident. The filmmaker said, “When I was a child, I found a dead reef shark. I took it home and played with it until my mother made me throw it back into the sea. It wasn’t a particularly profound day then, but 15 years later, I’ve found the story to be a prime source of inspiration for this short film. I made this comedy to highlight the power of curiosity, the price of wisdom, and our responsibility to care for the planet.” In the film version, young Arthur finds the shark and keeps trying to bring it back to life, even feeding it on the blood of his bully friend. We all learn about the environment in different ways.

Deadly Duels XII (2025): Directed by Justine Bead and written by Nick Grant, this is all about a super religious kid — what we used to call Jesus Crispy in my hometown — who starts to think that his sister is possessed and goes to extreme lengths to save her. Between video games, heavy metal and corpse paint, this kid thinks that Satan is honest and in his living room. I loved this and feel like I lived it, because back in 1989, I was investigated by my high school under the suspicion that I worshipped the devil because I wore lots of black shirts and went out with someone who wore goth makeup. Such is life.

Don’t Screw This Up (2025): In this short film directed by Nathan Evans, a student screenwriter struggles to finish her script as her peers wait to actually complete the movie. As someone who is continually writing for other creatives, I felt the worry and nerves in this.

Elegancia (2025): A misguided filmmaker is transported into a dark fairytale world of her own creation, a place where the dance never stops. Directed and written by Maria Shevtsova, this is a fully formed vision that could totally be a full-length film all on its own. It looks gorgeous while also being frightening at times; how many of us who watch movies all day also wish that we could lose ourselves in our fantasy worlds? I loved this, even though the majority of my dancing consists of interpretive routines to the theme songs of true crime shows that my wife watches.

Rouge (2025): Directed by Nicholas Jackson, this short is an “absurdist comedy taking place on May 4, 1937, in Paris, France, when Detective Jean Martin is called to a local apartment building to investigate the murder of painter, Arthur Dubois.” It has such a unique look and feel, really setting itself on its own as a film that’s ideally suited for a short instead of being a truncated full-length or a test of an idea.

Something’s Wrong With Kit (2024): Directed and written by Lida Everhart, this is all about a newly turned teenage vampire and the issues that she has to deal with, from keeping her vampirism a secret from her only friend, Maria, to dealing with her horrible mother. Even having the power to rise from the dead to feed on others means that you’re still going to have to deal with your family.

Strings (2025): “Sally joins a dream summer trip to Sicily with her childhood bestie Poppy, hoping to reconnect before they start university. Confronted with Poppy’s volatile new friend Alex, Sally is strangely drawn to the traditional puppets decorating their villa, and the strings that bind the two friends threaten to rip them apart.” Directed by Ava Pearson, Eleanor Smith and Nina Zandvliet, this feels like “What if Stuart Gordon made a message movie about bullying” and I mean that with all the magic that question should make you imagine. Also: If you go to a villa and it’s filled with dolls, find another villa.

Two Breaths (2024): Directed and written by Kateryna Kurganska, this takes place in the not-too-distant future. A small-scale nuclear weapon has ruined an island paradise, sending everyone away but young Ava and her grandfather, who believes that he can save their dying home. He can’t and passes away himself, leaving Ava stranded with only a stuffed manta ray named Mr. Fish. Luckily, she also meets Two Breaths, a real manta ray who keeps her alive and helps her to finally leave this all behind. Several of the CFF films focused on the destruction of our ecosystem this year, a concern I’ve had for some time. Luckily, there is some hope.

The Pledge (2024): Charles and Sam are lifelong friends on their last day of pledgeship to a fraternity. Charles is worried, but Sam tells him that as long as they’re together, everything will be OK. I wish that were true, but when the frat brothers dose them with LSD, Charles goes out of control as he struggles to be alone and just get through this bad trip. Directed by Jackson Stofka, who co-wrote the script with Trenton Hancock, this film features murder by keg and an atmosphere that makes me realize I’m glad art school didn’t have fraternities. I want to see a full-length version of this!

Terroir (2025): A young wine critic (Madison Hu) returns to a French vineyard one year after giving it a bad review. There, she and her friends become the target of a masked maniac. Is he trying to get back at her for that review? Directed and written by Casey Rogerson, I’ve been waiting for a murder movie set in a winery ever since the opening of Heart Eyes. Well made!

The Humming Grows (2024): Directed and written by Aughbar, this short finds MMA fighter Jodie (Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz) breaking into her sister’s home to save her family. Why is her niece all chained up? Why is there a bloody family photo? What will she have to do to save everyone? Ramos-Ortiz is a capable actress and stunt performer, with this short serving as an excellent showcase for her to demonstrate her dramatic and athletic abilities. While a student film, this looks significantly better than you might expect.

The Things We Keep (2025): Directed by Joanna Fernandez, this finds its main character, Kate, forced into a caretaker position for her estranged mother. As she comes home to clean the hoarded house where her mother has lived alone for years — and where Kate has avoided — she learns that within these walls, the horror of her mother’s sickness remains. This movie made me think deeply about the ways that my wife has changed since the death of my father and how there are parts of my old family home that I haven’t visited in some time.

Tin Soldiers (2025): What is normal? That’s what this movie asks as a young man named Caius is put on prescription drugs that will influence the rest of his life. Directed and written by Aris Federman, this film about ADHD prompts you to consider other lives and the struggles people face.

to write the ending (2025): Directed and written by Shaler Keenum, this is the story of Soren, a street poet (Ali Alsaleh), who uses a magical typewriter to find true love with Cassiopeia, the girl of his dreams (Leigha Sinnott). I really liked how this takes the male ideal of romance and confronts it with the truth, that no woman wants the rest of the world to stop. Guys get too literal. The love language we learn from movies can sometimes lead us to become stalkers or incels. Luckily, it seems she may be able to help Soren work it all out.

What’s Left (2025): This is a short set in a future Tennessee where the consequences of global warming have drastically altered the world, as the ocean moves inland. Society collapses, as does the United States, as people struggle to get together. Directed and written by Ryan Gentle and Austin Quarles, this is science fiction for a very limited time; the coming soon on the poster is ominous because this is the place where we’ll all be living sooner than we’d like to believe.

Did My Heart Love Till Now (2025): Love potions never work, you know? I’m not sure, as I’ve never used one myself. But in this, a witch is so desperate for a lover that she drives the man of her dreams to mania. This didn’t go as planned. Directed by Veronica Tullo, this film boasts a gorgeous look and tells a compelling story. I wonder if the lead actress was cast because she bears a vague resemblance to Nicole Kidman in Practical Magic.

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, as well as 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.

More shorts? Yes!

Bathroom Spider (2025): Directed by Christine Weatherup and written by C.J. Hoke, this short finds a young bride (Ivy Strohmaier) having her heart callously broken by her husband (Logan Eller). With only her bathroom spider to confide in, he will soon find that he’s not the only one able to go through great change in a very short time. This is a very simple tale that’s told well and has quite the payoff for the audience after enduring just how rude that man has been.

Severed (2025): Megan Duffy directed, co-wrote — with Danielle Bauman — and stars in this short as Abigail, a woman who keeps finding fingers in the streets of her town. There’s been an epidemic of missing digits, whether that’s through accident, a finger cutter or a strange disease. Her partner Mark (Ben Giroux) doesn’t even want to hear about it, angered by all the sympathy that the fingerless have been getting. Yet those who look down on others often find themselves dealing with whatever they’ve been close-minded about. This is a fun, quirky and totally unexpected offering. Loved it!

A Haunting at Alma Drive (2024): “On August 1, 2023, Dalton Allen bought the house at 1310 Alma Drive. The listing said it was haunted. But it was within his budget.” What a fun take on the found footage genre, as this starts as you’d expect with one of those new homeowners discovering that his house is haunted by something that wants his Whataburger. Luckily, this doesn’t play into the cliches of those strobing and stuttering Paranormal Activity films and instead subverts them. Dalton Allen directed it, we must assume he lived to tell the tale.

Bulbber (2025): An uninvited guest at a funeral ends up being questioned by the dead man’s sister and soon they end up in a dance of grief or connection or abject terror. Who’s to say? Regardless, this short was completely unhinged in all the best of ways, at times feeling like it was about to descend into some Argento whirlpool and at others, just being about two lost souls trying to make sense of death and needing to be around it. I have so many questions and want to know more, but sometimes brief, analog moments are best undescribed. Amazing!

401 (2025): What starts as a date seemingly going well between Sue (Madison Cowmeadow) and Nancy (Lucia Towers) takes a dark turn when Sue goes to the bathroom before the check arrives and they head off to Nancy’s place. Inside there, a voice demands to know how she plans to pay for all the sins of her past and promises to give her a chance just as much as it swears that it is going to murder her. As someone who often ends up in the bathroom for long stretches of time, this frightened me.

Cease to Exist (2024): Two girls try to communicate with the ghost of Manson — get the title? — in this short directed and written by Taylor Nodrick. This looks gorgeous and reminds me of one very important lesson: If you are going to summon Charles Manson with your spirit board, just don’t. He’s totally going to stab you in the tummy. Nodrick followed Charlie’s advice: “If you’re going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy.”

Supper (2025): A dysfunctional family — that’s really putting it oh so lightly — has sat down to dinner, but really, they’re kicking out their least favorite brother through a new legal process known as familial emancipation. This leads to them arguing about who their father’s favorite child is, why brothers hate the men that their sisters are having sex with and the subject of bringing a gun to said family dinner. Nothing works out well for anyone. Directed and written byJoshua Ryan Dietz, this has a great cast, including Dale Dickey (Winter’s Bone), Jeff Perry, Sam Rechner, Aleksa Palladino, Henry Samiri, Andrew Perez and Joshuah Arizmendi.

Escape(2024): Directed and written by Lorenzo Manetti, this starts in a suburban bedroom at the start of an alien invasion. This looks as good as anything you’ll see in a Hollywood blockbuster this year but it has such heart and a truly inspired twist on the end that shifts the point of view. Obviously, three minutes is long enough for what it wants to do, but man, I can’t wait to see what its filmmaker does with a big budget and more time.

It Draws Closer (2024): Directed and written by Joshua David Matthews, this was originally titled Sketch. It’s such a simple idea: a woman is sketching at night and what she draws is coming closer and closer — hence the title — the more realized that her illustration becomes. This only needs four minutes to gradually build the tension and then pay it off in the best of ways, something that many other films take 90 minutes or more to do before never being able to stick that landing. Well done!

Loud (2025): This reminds me of the Ohio Players. An aspiring music producer (Shakira Barrera) records a violent event — as Travolta said, “It’s a good scream.” — she becomes haunted by its sound, trying to make it fit into the music that she’s creating. Directed by Adam Azimov, who co-wrote the script with Isaac Cravit, this is just 7 minutes long and reminds me that we need more sound-oriented horror. As you’d expect, the sound design is awesome in this and a major part of the story. Definitely hunt this one down.

Mr. Static (2024): “You didn’t watch. Time to die.” Samantha (Christina Elizabeth Smith) must watch a live video stream of household murders that are mysteriously broadcast to a CRT TV in her home. It’s the work of Mr. Static (played by Bill Watterson with the voice of Josh Petersdorf). Yet what happens when she looks away? Can she? Directed and written by Mike Williamson, I want this to be a full-length film. It really feels like there’s so much in here to expand on.

The Last Thing She Saw (2024): Directed by Anthony Cousins(Frogman) and Rebecca Daugherty and written by Brady Richards, this has a home invasion catch Emma (Bailey Bolton) and the criminals — Fritz (Nathan Tymoshuk) and Mastermind (Agatha Rae Pokrzywinski) — gouge out her eyes. Except she won’t go down easy and keeps running away, dragging her eyeballs behind her. As you can imagine, this movie is all about the gore. Lucio Fulci is somewhere laughing and so pleased, but wonders if you could please use more fast zooms? I’d love to see this in a crowded movie theater instead of virtually.

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 watches.

It’s the first block of shorts, so with no further ado — let’s get into it!

Cat and Fish (2025): In this animated short by director and writer Nilram Ranjbar, a fish goes to a much better, larger body of water, all thanks to the sun and an unexpected friend: a cat. What charming animation in this, creating a near 3D version of string to match the colors and tones.

Damned (2025): Directed by Lukas Anderson, who co-wrote this short with Elio Andres, Jesse (Cole Kelley) breaks his house arrest — with just two weeks left on his sentence — as his parole officer tries to track him down with his ankle monitor. The police aren’t the only ones looking for him, as a demon (C.P. Walker) wants back the soul of the father. Or maybe it’s all about something more. This is a nice short, one that maybe needs the last line to tie it all up nice with a bow, but that’s fine. It’s working with a really truncated time in an attempt to share a much larger story. It feels like a full-length film could come from this.

Don’t Look (2025): Directed and written by John Wyatt, this starts with a young boy named Eli waking up to find monsters under his bed. Little does he know that it wasn’t his imagination. Maybe he shouldn’t go back to sleep. Well, not like he’s getting a chance — spoiler warning — as he definitely isn’t alone. A really quick film and one where I’d love to have seen perhaps something extra added, a twist or something that makes this story stand out.

Sin Eater (2025): Director and writer Corey Simpson tells the story of Minerva, who is trying to clean out the home of her dead grandmother when a stranger shows up to tell her that she must take on the burden her grandmother owned, the Sin Eater. Much like “The Sins of the Fathers” episode of Night Gallery, this shows how the pains of sin must be passed on to a new generation. What helps make this even better are the strobing Bava-style lighting, music that shoots for an Italian film feel at times and great sound design. It feels dark and gauzy, like those tapes you used to bootleg from the video store and then wondered, “What am I watching?” Trust me. That’s a good thing.

Lola (2025): Tessie’s grandmother, Lola, has been diagnosed with dementia. Tessie can’t handle it so she’s created a machine that tries to save the memories before an AI named Mena destroys it. Directed by Grace Hanna, who wrote it with Derek Manansala and Duke Yang, this has one memory — a night of karaoke singing — being recreated so that one perfect memory can be saved. Yet Tessie doesn’t realize that in her struggle to keep the past, she’s forgetting the time she has in the here and now. My father had dementia and days were struggles, as he forgot who he was and even who I was at times. No machine could keep him either, no matter how hard you’d try. Sometimes, you think you’d get through and then you’d realize he hadn’t been paying attention. It’s so frightening to lose someone before they’re gone and this movie does a great job of capturing that feeling. All we can do is enjoy the short window that we have together, no matter how conscious we may be of it. Memory is, as they say, fleeting.

The Bohannons – Night Construction (2025): A stop motion animation from Chattanooga’s The Skeleton Key Workshop, this shows the sun setting for the day and the moon and the night sky being put together. Directed and written by Matt Eslinger, you have to admire the guts of this band to have a bio that says this: “The Bohannons are one of Chattanooga’s finest exports, who make heavy rock ’n’ roll that’s equal parts Motörhead and Neil Young, with lead guitar chops that rival both.” I can report that this video and song kick ass.

Til Death Do Us Part (2025): Directed by Bronwyn Blanks-Blundell and Alexander Protich, this finds Doctor Frigg in her lab, trying to bring her one true love back to life. Slamming her fist on the desk, a tape recorder is activated, bringing something else back to life: her voice from the past, a transmission that may give her the information that she needs to move on. This is a nice short, one that uses its animation, music and sound design well.

Meeet (2025): Six eccentric characters are starving in a bomb shelter. When one of them seemingly dies — maybe — the rest decides to eat her corpse. But just a little bit, right? Yet what happens next, well, it proves that writers — while being liars — often write their own justice. Directed by Laama Almadani and written by Yemi Eniolorunda, this makes one wonder about just how you would go through eating someone. We’ve all debated it, but the actual butchering and cooking seems like too much. And what wine do you serve with it? And even worse, if someone is so stoned that you can just into them and serve their body, which wakes them because it smells so good that they eat it themselves, could you finish your meal? What a great short, put together so simply. Loved it!

CHECK PLEASE (2024): I am a veteran of the wars of fighting for the check. The director, Shane Chung, is too. He said, “As a kid, I witnessed firsthand the quickness with which friends can turn on each other whenever my parents took me to dinner with their pals. It was all smiles until it came time to pay for the bill – then the fangs came out. “I got it!” “Don’t be ridiculous, it’s my treat!” “You can get me next time!” It got so serious for no reason. Arguing, subterfuge… it was killing with kindness taken to another level. I wondered how far someone could take fighting to pay for the bill. Inspired by my love of goofy slapstick action comedies like Drunken Master and Everything Everywhere All At Once, I thought: what if they literally fought each other? I challenged myself to write a ten-minute long action scene where two Korean-Americans fought each other with chopsticks, grill coverings, and credit cards… and CHECK PLEASE was born.”

Starring Richard Yan and Sukwon Jeong, this is a simple story but is so perfect. It gets across what it means to be a man — paying the bill — as well as the director’s attempts at getting across the feeling of assimilating to a new culture. It’s also filled with great action. I laughed really hard throughout and found joy here.

Baking and Entering (2025): Directed and written by Lance Harbour, Cole Keisling, Andrew Lacy, Zach Legaux and Brooklynne Scivally, this has Hugh, a pie baker in a food truck, dealing with a grizzly bear. Perhaps he should be happy to have a customer. This is a cute animated short that has a sweet ending and gives the viewer a nice moral, all in a short running time. I love the bear — his face when the metal window keeps closing is so endearing.

Feed (2025): Directed and written by Kara McLeland, this has Rachel and Nick having a party guest over, almost lamenting that over the past year how their lives have changed because of the Harbor Initiative. Gone are the days of concerts and going out, instead they stay home — because a space alien baby is part of their lives. That child never sleeps on certain nights of the full moon and must feed differently on Thursday and no one can keep up on the message boards, but now they’re eating fingers and destroying relationships. Maybe this dinner party isn’t just for our married couple. I love this, a tension-packed short that rightly takes it time to drop the hammer on you.

We Need to Talk About Balloons (2025): Dani’s mom is a social media influencer using her daughter for her mom brand, but Dani would rather be Dani the Destroyer, a magician. But why would a magician be called a destroyer? Directed by Jennifer Bonior and co-written with Dycee Wildman, this shows that you shouldn’t try and run a child’s life, much less tell her that she has to move on from doing balloon popping magic, unless you want to be a stain on the wall of a glittery balloon shop.

The Lily and the Scorpion (2025): Outlaws The Lily and The Scorpion are on the run after a bank job gone wrong. These partners are losing trust in one another and it’s like everything is falling to pieces. Directed and written by Charlie Netto, this has two female outlaws in the west, which is a story not often told. But what happens when one of them wants to go straight and end the outlaw life? This could so easily be a full-length movie with the storytelling in it. I loved this — an exploration of freedom, for a little while, until one needs to be safe.

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 watches.