The Best Horror Shorts of 2023

Morgan comes home from a late shift to find her boyfriend, Mason, who has decided to adopt a new pet. Though there is something odd about Mason and his behavior, Morgan quickly becomes suspicious of the new pet in their home. This film won the Popcorn Frights Best Short Film selection of 2022. Super creepy! Hey… that’s… not a dog.

After a gruesome car accident, a young woman fights her mind’s 3 levels of hell to survive. This short is a crowd-pleasing action-packed showcase of well-choreographed fight sequences. This is an autobiographical film that reflects upon Bollig’s own traumatic and tragic accident. Wait until the end credits to let it all sink in. This film racked up many awards in the festival season of 2022.

From producer Jamie Lee Curtis comes a chilling horror short film about a woman (Allison Tolman, Fargo) who becomes the victim of a terrifying delivery scam that feels impossibly close to home…

Getting a short film starring an established Hollywood actress and produced by a Horror Icon is rare. Escalating inconveniences go from frustrating to completely unnerving—a really nice build of suspense with this short. The ending is telegraphed a bit, but it allows the story to come full circle.

A striving actress is invited to a mysterious gourmet club only to discover that her competition has prepared a horrifying banquet. The cinematography is sumptuous and satisfying.  Jealousy, vanity, and the promise of eternal youth collide in this gastro-horror wicked morality tale.

Another year, another great horror comedy from our friend Chris McInroy! The man who gave us We Summoned a Demon, Guts, and Death Metal returns with another gory classic. Two Dudes think they found the cure for zombie bites.    His movies never fail to amuse. One gag after another. And, as always the title is the punchline.

Maeve goes to rescue her best friend, Eli, from a bad road comedy gig in the desert.  However, she discovers that Maeve has been infected by a demon that eats anyone that she’s jealous of.  They have to defeat the demon before it murders Eli. Super clever. Fantastic punch line, a silly demon puppet, and great comedic timing.

The disturbance of a noisy neighbor leads to the discovery of a haunted boombox and a terrifyingly possessed dancer in this tale of internet memes gone wrong.  Perhaps the weirdest short film I’ve seen all year. Truly unsettling.  

After he’s fired from his job as a fast food mascot, a professional clown discovers he may be the only person who can save innocent people from other-dimensional evil clowns. The best part of this film is that it stars an actor who was actually an in costume Ronald McDonald before the Golden Arches decided to do away with their own creepy clown.

A romantic getaway to a secluded cabin turns sour, leaving a lovesick young man on his own.  Except, he’s not alone, he’s being watched by two lonely spirits who will do whatever it takes to make him stay.  A long format short (Oxymoron?) A study of a series of lonely people trying to find solitude and instead finding themselves longing for company.  73 minutes.  

Following the death of his husband in a freak accident, skeptical Alex is convinced by his friend Jason to visit a mysterious psychic medium, Madame Sharma.  Madame Sharma conducts a seance and conjures up the spirit of the dead husband, the spirit takes over her body, and long-buried secrets are revealed.  Apparently, the husband was a real asshole but he had some real baggage to drop.  Really funny.

A criminal breaks into a woman’s home.  After rendering her unconscious, he proceeds to manipulate her memories.  In the depths of her mind, he discovers a truth about himself.  

Psicario is an homage to the Brilliant cyberpunk science fiction of William Gibson with its theme of technology implants and memories: the beautiful cinematography and a gut punch of an ending.

As a woman packs up her childhood home following the passing of her father, she comes to learn that there may be a more sinister threat behind his death, long buried on the grounds of the family home.  Authentically scary, brilliantly shot, with top-notch editing, this 18-minute film threw some real haymakers.  My favorite short film of the year so far. It may be the best-looking horror picture in either the shorts or features.

In The Shadow Of God won Best in Show at PHFF in 2022 (A year I missed) and five other film festivals.  It took home hardware at Cabin in the Woods as well.

Two antagonistic forces fight over a woman’s unborn child.  The salvation of the world is at stake.  This woman has given birth to 665 children in rapid succession.  We know what is coming with baby 666.  A priest is trying his hardest to prevent that child from being born. BRUTAL! GORY!

1692 The Inquisition is in decline, and one of the Inquisitors has been trying to find the perfect torture device.  He’s developing the “Demeanour” a torture chair created by his engineer.  The Engineer’s daughter Elana has different plans. Nobody suspects the Spanish Inquisition!  The inquisitor has an artist on hand to try and capture the torment of pure agony to scare the local populace, using his victims as a template.  The brutal end of this film is ironic and powerful.

Natural selection says that only those who adapt will survive.  What if humans have become stupid?  Three scientists are the apparent only survivors of a viral outbreak that will cause your head to explode.  Only their protective helmets have kept them alive to this point, and they gamble on whether it’s safe to take their helmets off.  Hint.  It’s not.

Barb, an emotionally unstable mother, attempts to leave her family after she accuses her husband, Ken, of cooking their pet turtle and feeding it to her and their infant; however, she is coerced to stay when Ken reminds her she has nowhere left to turn. This is a brooding psychological thriller that focuses on domestic abuse and packs a real emotional punch. Plus… the poor turtle!

A scientist uses groundbreaking technology to communicate with the deceased but once he is through the looking glass, there is no turning back. The premise is fascinating, and the doubt hangs in the air if this box truly does what you think it does, or whether it is just A.I. This has already been put into production as a feature film by Biesemans.

A teenage girl suspects a local gardener’s involvement in the unsolved disappearance of their childhood friend. When Michelle hears her gardener whistling the same melody she heard the night of her childhood friend’s disappearance, she and her friends decide to investigate. Things are made complicated when the gardener clues into their efforts. This is old-school ’80s-style teenage investigation horror.

In wild 18th century Britain, a lonely woman discovers that her menstrual cycle is of interest to a stranger. This film is a brooding folklore piece is a study of longing, isolation, and loneliness. The stranger is straight out of Grimm Fairy tales. To be clear: old school Grimm. There’s something fishy about that guy…

A young winemaker creates a wine so exquisite that even Death demands to taste it. As he learns the awful truth about his bride’s fate, he captures Death in a barrel, ignoring the consequences of the natural order of things. This animated short is all pointy edges and shadows, conveying a grim plague-filled history. The “can’t cheat fate” trope is well used in this dark fable.