I have always had an affinity for the satanic end of the swimming pool when it comes to horror. Be it The Omen, The Sentinel, Race with the Devil, Trick or Treat, or The Exorcist, among many others, it’s just a sub-genre that I’ve always been attracted to. I can probably blame it on being raised in a religious household that went to church regularly, but regardless of the reason, I’m always game for a new take on the subject.

Born Again is a horror short that showcases what can best be described as the world’s worst satanic cult. They might mean well, at least as well as an Apocalypse-bent group of Satanists can mean, but they’re beyond terrible at their secret hobby. Some worse than others, of course, but based on the events and outcome of the dark ritual shown within this almost 7-minute short, they all suck.

Moving beyond the actual narrative, as I don’t want to spoil the humorous outcome, this is an incredibly polished and well-made film. If you hadn’t picked up on it already, Born Again is a comedy, and one in which almost all of the gags land. The performances are just as responsible for this as the writing, selling the hilarity and the severity of their situation. The single room setting doesn’t offer a lot in the way of big production value, but the centerpiece of it (an alter and pentagram) looks so good that I didn’t even really notice the one room nature of it until after the credits began to roll. That’s a mighty feat for an indie short. All in all, it makes for a breezy and very fun viewing!

Born Again was directed by a Columbus-based filmmaker named Jason Tostevin. Founder of indie studio Hands Off Productions, Tostevin has directed other acclaimed shorts in the past, such as ‘Til Death (part of the anthology Seven Hells), I Owe You (named Cinema Constant’s 2015 indie film of the year), and A Way Out (which apparently scored 50 awards across 100 festivals). This is the first work of his that I have seen, but rest assured that I will be hunting down the rest in the future.

Short films often aren’t given enough attention by horror fans unless they are featured as part of a larger anthology film or TV series. All too often we pass them over, unless we are lucky enough to be attending a festival or the odd short ends up being turned into a feature (i. e. Mama, Hobo with a Shotgun, Lights Out, etc.). While I can somewhat understand the desire by many to spend their (often limited) free time watching feature-length tales, there are a great many horror shorts out there that deserve some attention, love, and discussion.

Basically, what I’m saying is that a lot of great work is being done within the genre with short-form storytelling. We all should be paying more attention and making a greater effort to seek out such work, myself included. Born Again will next be screening at the Austin Revolution Film Festival, which runs from Thursday, September 22^nd through Sunday, September 25^th. If you’re in the area, give it a look if you have the chance. He commands it!