Editorials
Five Freaky Horror Short Films to Scare You
The tragedy of the short film is that, while it’s a necessary step in a filmmaker’s journey towards producing bigger projects (with these movies often requiring just as much effort as a feature), no one really tunes into the Oscars just to find out who won “best live-action short”.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a single theater that still screens short-form media outside of the festival scene, and as someone who’s made a fair number of short films in the past, I can guarantee you that this isn’t a very lucrative endeavor.
Yet, at least where genre movies are concerned, some of the very best filmmaking in the industry is currently happening within the short film circuit. In fact, I’d argue that many horror shorts are actually superior to their feature-length cousins, often precisely because of their more concise structure and budgetary limitations. In honor of these short-form frights, we’ve decided to highlight five freaky horror shorts that are worth a watch!
Like our previous articles recommending horror shorts, this list is purely based on personal opinion, but every film here stands out either because of its narrative prowess, overall visual style, or the presence of good old-fashioned scares. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite horror shorts if you think we missed a particularly memorable one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
5. My house walk-through (2016)
Liminal Horror only really took off in 2019 with the rise of the Backrooms phenomenon, but I’d argue that the genre’s seeds had already been planted years in advance at that point. A great example of this is PiroPito’s underrated found footage oddity, My house walk-through, a bizarre Japanese “home video” where an unseen man gives us a looping tour of his increasingly disturbing home.
PiroPito (also known as Nana825763) was already something of a horror icon after the release of Username: 666 back in 2008, but My house walk-through is a narratively dense nightmare that far surpasses the director’s previous work. That’s why this memorable short is still worth revisiting a decade later, not only as the grandfather of an entire genre but also as a legitimately fascinating piece of minimalist horror filmmaking in its own right.
4. Heck (2020)
Kyle Edward Ball may have made a name for himself with Skinamarink, but it’s his 2020 short Heck that first introduced the world to the filmmaker’s peculiar talent for liminal frights, lo-fi aesthetics, and surreal storytelling. And if you ask me, the 28-minute-long short is a superior product to its feature-length cousin precisely because of its streamlined structure.
While both movies are obviously meant to be enjoyed as eerie mood pieces, Heck feels narratively denser, making it more enjoyable for folks like myself who like their grainy nightmare fuel served with a healthy dose of freaky storytelling.
3. The Kid and the Camera (2022)
Analogue Horror sometimes gets a bad rap because of certain creators who attempt to emulate aging technology that they’re far too young to fully understand, but I don’t think it’s fair to judge a whole genre based on a handful of awkward examples. After all, projects like The Kid and the Camera prove that there are still unexpected thrills to be had when exploring the darker side of nostalgia.
Not only is Braiden Ortiz’s short an exceedingly authentic recreation of children’s programming from the 90s, but it’s also the only real successor to classic Creepypastas like the iconic Candle Cove, and that’s why it makes it onto the list.
2. La Última Campanada (2026)
Not only is Braiden Ortiz’s short an exceedingly authentic recreation of children’s programming from the 90s, but it’s also the only real successor to classic Creepypastas like the iconic Candle Cove, and that’s why it makes it onto the list. Animated horror is tough to get right. While some filmmakers think that sinking a ton of money into tinkering with the art style is all it takes to set up a spooky atmosphere, the fact remains that a good scary movie needs a good script, expensive animation or not. That’s why La Última Campanada (The Last Bell in English) is such a good time, as this indie production from Spain manages to translate all the gothic thrills of a traditional folk legend into a short yet satisfying experience.
The textures and animation may not be as smooth as something rendered by Pixar, but the subtle craftsmanship on display here more than makes up for that. From simulated split diopter shots to a narrative directly lifted from oral tradition, there’s a lot to love about this clever reinvention of the vourdalak myth.
(La Última Campanada is currently still screening at festivals, but it’ll be released online soon!)
1. Desdêmona (2025)
Cronenberg meets Kafka in this moody exploration of non-binary identity and insectoid body horror!
Desdêmona is likely the strangest movie on this list, with the filmmakers combining surreal visuals, meta storytelling (the main character even builds prosthetic props for horror movies!), and hand-crafted effects work in order to tell a unique story about a lonely individual undergoing an unexpected transformation.
That’s why I’d recommend this atmospheric Brazilian gem to all the weirdos out there – so long as you can handle the bug-themed imagery.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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