If you follow us on social media or have seen our recent site posts, then you will be aware that we recently attended Filmapalooza this year in Atlanta, Georgia. The event is where all of the winners of 48 hour film projects from around the globe are screened. The genres of films run the gamut from Musical/Western to Fantasy, although we were screened in the Special Genres section of the event as we created a 48 hour film for the horror specific contest in October of 2015 which was only held in a handful of cities. We watched as many films as we could at Filmapalooza and wanted to share some of the horror or related genre shorts that were at the event. Included below are short films that won their city and were screened at the event in no particular order.
Oblivious: This suspense thriller includes some bits of comedy and some pretty awesome special effects.
The Greater Evil: Here’s a brief synopsis of the short film provided by writer/director William R. Coughlan on the website for the short.
Across 2015, America watched in flabbergasted shock as the clear frontrunner for a major political party not only failed to self-immolate, but actually thrived proffering a campaign of narcissism, ignorance, bigotry and outright lunacy. Despite my long-held assumption that the more odious elements of a political agenda must of course be couched in some semblance of outward humanity, here was inescapable evidence of my error. Still, rather than losing all faith in the basic decency of my fellow citizens, I chose instead to imagine a more palatable explanation: the candidate must be exercising some nefarious, supernatural hold over his followers. After all, nobody could willingly follow an agenda that overtly repugnant. Inspired by the tongue-in-cheek slogan from the long-runningCthulhu for President campaign — “Don’t settle for the lesser evil” — I posited a more explicitly Lovecraft-influenced presidential aspirant for “The Greater Evil,” taking his political ambitions to their logical conclusion.
Daisy: This psychological horror short film shows what can happen when your “pets” cause trouble.
Adulthood: This unsettling asylum/insanity short film is heavy on atmosphere. The brief synopsis for the short is as follows, “Two sisters spend their last day of childhood preparing for the adulthood celebration conducted by mother.”
A Lab Rat Tale: This horror musical was mostly shot in one take, and at the end of the video you get to see some behind the scenes footage.
Wake Up: According to this thriller/suspense short film’s synopsis, “A man struggles with a recurring dream and seeks help to find its true meaning.”
Werther; Django: This short film from Osaka, Japan is funny and quite a treat as it presents a rather meta behind the scenes look at a Western.
Stephanie’s Room: According to this thriller/suspense short film’s synopsis, ” When Zelda finds herself locked out of her apartment, she discovers that her neighbor is hiding a secret.” This short was also one of the selections that will go to the Cannes Film Festival this year.
Glimp: In this musical, a young girl finds quite the surprise while searching her grandmother’s house. This offbeat short is definitely worth a watch.
Dessert: According to this dark comedy short film’s synopsis,”When a woman tries to wrap up a creepy date by speeding up dessert, she finds the real treat.”
Adam: According to this sci-fi horror short film’s synopsis, “Dealing with a loss, technology helps a group of friends reconnect.”
