Have you run out of scary movies to watch on Netflix? Are you looking for something hair-raising to stream this October? Well, the internet is full of terrifying short horror films ranging from low-budget amateur attempts to slick, stylish films that rival Hollywood productions. You’re almost certain to find something in the rabbit-hole of YouTube’s related videos that suitably chills your blood.
But it can be hard to know where to start when there’s so much available. We’ve put together some great films less than 15 minutes long to whet your appetite. There may not be too much spooky fare hitting theaters this Halloween, but if you’re looking for a scare, why not try some of these horrifying shorts?
Geist
You don’t see too many animated horror films and it’s a shame because the medium gives such complete control over the mood and atmosphere of the piece. Geist, produced by Giant Animation Studios, pushes outside the boundaries of what most people consider the usual boundaries of animation: into the horror genre. Not only is the animation itself beautiful and fluid, but the character and set design convey so much information with almost no dialogue. While it’s not the most terrifying short film on this list, it definitely excels at producing suspense and even getting you emotionally invested in the main character.
2AM: The Smiling Man
This film is a bite-sized classic, first published on YouTube in 2013. It chronicles a single heart-stopping encounter with a strange man the main character spots on the street, walking alone one night. Based off of a creepypasta of similar title, filmmaker Michael Evans wanted to immortalize a Redditor’s strange story of an eerily smiling man. The actor portraying the strange man does an excellent job at conveying the sort of disconnected lunacy described in the original story. Maybe don’t watch this one if you have any night time errands to run.
The Offering
This short, directed by Ryan Patch, opens with a father and son speeding through a forest at night. It’s almost midnight. They’re hurriedly assembling some items into a carved bowl—a melon, a feather, a bird’s skull. Clearly some kind of offering. As the time draws closer, they make a terrible discovery; they’re missing one crucial ingredient. Based loosely on the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, this film addresses the sacrifices we make toward strange and powerful forces in our lives and how far is “too far” when your life in on the line.
Dawn of the Deaf
Much like John Krasinski’s The Quiet Place, Rob Savage’s Dawn of the Deaf explores a horrific situation through the lens of impaired hearing. When a strange pulse of sound wipes out everyone who can hear it, the only people left standing are those who can’t hear at all.
The basic premise isn’t that groundbreaking aside from turning a disability into a life-saver. What really grabs the viewer’s attention are the brief, poignant glimpses into the lives of the focal characters. The short almost seems like the beginning few minutes of a feature-length film, one we’d be happy to watch.
Curve
The premise of Tim Egan’s Curve is so strange and so minimalist that it somehow rockets the tension far past what any explanation could deliver. The stark immediacy of the problem and the danger make it ridiculously easy to imagine yourself in the same situation—precariously balanced on a smooth curve above a dark abyss.
No words need to be spoken, nothing else needs to be established. You’re there with the main character on that ledge. And there’s a moment in the film where your heart will surely drop in sympathetic dread, when the struggle goes from difficult to impossible.
Wandering Soul
Josh Tanner uses a familiar war movie setting, the jungles and tunnels of Vietnam, to tell a compelling horror period piece about a little known part of history. This short is set in the Cu Chi tunnels and follows soldier Dao shortly after burying a fallen comrade. When he isn’t able to complete a prayer over the body, the tunnels become a terrible maze of claustrophobia and horror as restless spirits scream and stalk Dao in the darkness. The story is based on the real-life “Ghost Tapes” used by the American soldiers to prey on the spirituality of the native Vietnamese and sheds some light on the strange uncomfortable idea of Operation Wandering Soul.
Homing In
The horror of Parker Hill’s Homing In is how grounded and realistic it is. The premise is deceptively simple: a woman home alone discovers a man who isn’t her husband has let himself into her house. There’s no gore, no supernatural monster waiting in the shadows. Just the oppressively terrifying situation of finding a place where you should be safe invaded by someone who shouldn’t be there. This film probably resonates most strongly with other women. The idea of finding a strange man in your house and saying whatever he wants, trying not to provoke him, trying to avoid some unpredictable landmine, was too realistic not to highlight.
Reverse
Another short from Josh Tanner, who clearly excels at taking familiar ideas and pivoting them into something fresh and frightening. We’re all familiar with the idea of technology as terror, the idea that we can’t trust our devices or that restless spirits somehow linger in lines of Facebook’s code. But Reverse gives us a fun new spin on technological horror. What if you could only see the ghost in your car’s back-up camera? What this film lacks in story it more than makes up for in tension and creative use of an idea to drive home the fear of something we can’t see.
Lights Out
Nothing less than a short horror classic, Lights Out was created with essentially no budget by David F. Sandberg and Lotta Losten. The premise is simple and unnerving. A woman sees an unsettling shadow in her hallway that only appears when the light is off.
It was initially released at the Bloody Cuts film festival, where it was a finalist. Sandberg won Best Director there and went on to see his short become immensely popular online. There’s a good chance you’ve seen this one already, but if you haven’t, it’s a must-watch.
Mystery Box
Clocking in at a moderate 10 minutes, this horror short directed by Sonny Laguna has basically all the ingredients for a feature film. First, and most important for a horror short, the tension is pulled wire-taut through the whole thing. It’s also beautifully shot with evocative lighting and imaginative design. Then to top it off, the lead (and only) actor Lisa Henni delivers a great performance as a woman living a remote, isolated life in a cabin in Sweden. When she fishes up a strange box chained shut from a nearby lake, she doesn’t think much of it at first. At least until the box appears later on her doorstep. Without saying too much, the strange item’s insistence cultivates a great sense of dread.
