When the night is dark and silence falls over the room, isn’t that just the perfect setting for a deliciously terrifying horror binge? Why yes, it is! If you’re the kind that relishes those spine-tingling chills, we have just the fix for you. Not your run-of-the-mill feature-length films, but a curated list of horror short films that pack a punch without dragging you through hours of suspense. These horror shorts will have you peeking through your fingers yet craving for more. So, grab your bravest friend, dim the lights, and get ready for an edge-of-your-seat marathon with the 22 Best Horror Shorts To Binge Through.
22. Lifeguards Vs. Zombies
We’re taken back to the summer of 1985 where a gutsy gang of lifeguards lock horns with a zombie horde. The trouble begins when Los Angeles’s water supply gets contaminated by a mysterious disease that sparks an undead disaster. The lifeguards, armed with their sunblock and bravado, take charge of their pool to push back against the undead assailants.
Watch Lifeguards Vs. Zombies on Reveel
21. Break Of Dawn
This intense horror short film, directed by Rich Varville, proves that limited screen time doesn’t lessen the terror. In “Break Of Dawn”, Janie Hurley, captures the raw, frightened essence of a tormented young woman. She relentlessly confronts a maniac with questions concerning her family and specifically her sister. It’s an edge-of-your-seat experience you’ll remember long after the credits roll.
20. STRAY
We introduce you to STRAY. The lead character, Jack (played remarkably by Paul Kandarian), is your small-town cop that left his family many moons ago. In a fatal twist of fate, he is forced to take his estranged granddaughter, Stacy (portrayed by Morgan Boss-Maltais), under his wings after her mother’s demise. But when this attempt at playing ‘happy families’ nips abruptly in the bud, Jack must navigate the stormy waters of revenge and retribution.
19. Something Beautiful
A confusing, captivating conundrum – Something Beautiful. This short film takes the viewer to an abandoned hospital where a woman ventures for what might be a photo shoot or maybe, a second date. She soon discovers, however, that she has walked into a house (or rather, hospital) of horrors controlled by a real psychopath.
Watch Something Beautiful on Reveel
18. Sleep Well
Directed by Sean Cruser, the film details the torment of a sleep-deprived man caught in a spiralling nightmare. After hearing a relentless knock at his front door, the man’s reality starts to blur, leading him down a harrowing path with dire consequences. Feel the chills crawl up your skin as you question what’s real and what isn’t – just like the protagonist of this nail-biting horror short.
17. Killing Time
The unnerving quiet of a rural diner is shattered when a bizarre stranger walks in. ‘Killing Time’ follows this unwelcome guest, who brings along an unimaginable horror— a dreadful creature with a brutal warning: no one can outrun Time. As the monstrous entity wreaks havoc, the diner’s patrons found themselves woven into a tense, nerve-shattering storyline that pushes the envelope of suspense.
16. Threshold
When ordinary life turns into a suspense-filled horror story, you get Threshold. What sets this short horror film apart is that it chronicles the terrifying experience of an agoraphobic voice actress. As her fear of public places grows, reality and fiction start to blur. She cannot leave her home, yet she finds herself tormented by the presence of a stranger within these four walls.
15. Boy In The Dark
Boy In The Dark is a short horror that explores the internal and external demons that a young boy, Jake, faces on a daily basis. After the untimely death of his mother, Jake finds himself tormented by a chilling monster that manifests itself every night. By day, he has to endure the relentless bullying from his schoolmate. Jake’s only comfort lies in an old sketchbook inherited from his mother, where he escapes to the world of Diana, the Queen of Spiders. It is up to him to channel the courage to confront his fears both in the day and at night.
Watch Boy In The Dark on Reveel
14. Pistachio
When it comes to delivering chills down your spine, few do it better than Pistachio – a nail-biting horror short that begins with the protagonist, Kelly, waking up in a dark, horrific hole, chained and helpless. What does her masked captor want? Is everything what it seems? As the hunter closes in on the prey, the intrigue heightens, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats.
13. The Backwater Gospel
The Backwater Gospel, a multi-award-winning short film from the acclaimed university of animation, The Animation Workshop, will jolt your senses. Regular visits from The Undertaker spells doom for the town, and one day, the frustrated townsfolk decide to hasten death’s arrival. Lauded for its unique visual style and dark, morbid narrative sprinkled with black humour, The Backwater Gospel is certain to leave you with a lingering sense of discomfort, long after your screen has faded to black.
Watch The Backwater Gospel on Reveel
12. Remote
Remote takes a dip into the spine-chilling world of time paradoxes and unspeakable horrors. The plot follows a man who finds himself temporarily entwined in time with a young woman living in his house 30 years prior. As a sinister mystery unfurls, he must race against the clock to prevent a deadly future from becoming her tragic past.
11. Hang Up!
Taking an innovative play on the classic Shakespearean villain monologues, Hang Up! brings the dramatic element of treachery and conspiracy into the realm of the modern world. The suspense starts with an accidental butt dial by a curious husband, who gets an unintended peek into his wife’s mind, much reminiscent of some of Shakespeare’s biggest villains like Lady Macbeth.
10. Tramping Ground
Nature’s serenity lends itself to a colossal spiral into terror in the chilling Tramping Ground. Sarah and Kevin plan to unwind, soaking up some nature; but unbeknownst to them, they are not alone. A cult with a sinister ritual at hand is about to turn their pleasant retreat into a nightmare.
Watch Tramping Ground on Reveel
9. The Neighbor
Taking an unexpected turn of events under the hands of director Graham Northrup, The Neighbor is a conversation that turns into a nightmare. It starts seemingly innocuously, with a young man finally having the talk with his girlfriend that they have been putting off. But from there, it quickly spirals into a chilling sequence of events that will leave you questioning the decisions you make.
8. The Dark at the End of the Tunnel
The Dark at the End of the Tunnel encapsulates this fear beautifully, with a young woman finding herself lost within a terrifying forest while trying to escape her obligations. This movie plunges you into the unsettling journey of her life, filled with moments of shock and scare. The fact that the ties between the ominous forest and her responsibilities being the horror aspects will give you a newer perspective on terror.
Watch The Dark at the End of the Tunnel on Reveel
7. For Ayizan
Baron Phillippe finds his world crumbling as his family’s farm is on the brink of foreclosure. However, life takes a turn when strange happenings begin to dance around his house, propelling him to the doorstep of Lizzy, a former equestrian fixture on Phillippe’s property. Their trip to the farm for what is expected to be a nostalgic farewell takes an unexpected detour, veering the storyline into paths untraveled.
6. Complicated
Horror is often multi-layered, and the movie “Complicated” encapsulates this facet perfectly. When Mackenzie and Hannah shape a plan to break up with their boyfriends, little do they know that one of their boyfriends has a plan of his own. How does this scheme factor into the larger plot? Well, you’ll have to watch and find out.
5. Aura Djinn Story
When a seemingly ordinary purchase spins into a whirlwind of supernatural events! In Aura Djinn Story, Jenna buys a mysterious mirror from an odd man and wakes up the next morning to a reality she no longer recognizes. The mirror is far from ordinary – it’s a portal to a world crawling with restless djinn.
Watch Aura Djinn Story on Reveel
4. Imaginary Terry
What could have been a harmless trip down memory lane turns decidedly nightmarish when he starts seeing his old imaginary friend again. The real kicker? His pal might not be so imaginary, after all. As unnerving mysteries unravel, “Imaginary Terry” shapes up to be a terrifyingly tantalizing cocktail of dread and suspense.
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3. City of the Dead – Prologue
Straight from the terrifying underbelly of Chicago, City of the Dead – Prologue takes us into the heart of a chilling narrative. Hustling burglars set out to rob a tattoo shop only to find a sick patron within, carrying a deadly virus. The situation spirals into a nightmare quagmire, as they grapple not only with their ill-fated loot but a contagion spreading amongst clients like wildfire.
Watch City of the Dead – Prologue on Reveel
2. Mob Ghost
The story follows a recently divorced man who enlists the help of a bargain-rate paranormal investigator to rid his apartment of the ghost of a notorious mob boss. Here, horror meshes with dark comedy as the duo scramble against the ticking clock, the spirit needs to be ousted before midnight, or it’ll claim the apartment forever.
1. Friends Forever
Set in the year 1987, a group of rollicking college students takes possession of an abandoned house for a wild party. But this is no ordinary house. Wrapped in a shroud of sinister history, the house was a beacon of terror before they unwittingly turned it into a party house. A mother, cornered by despair and poverty, had once chosen a chilling path for her family in this very abode. Now, it’s a Pandora’s box of horror waiting to be opened.
