Fright Bites: August 2024

Fright Bites returns with a roundup of the best short horror. This month, we spotlight some festival standouts that deserve their buzz.

After a brief hiatus, our monthly love letter to short horror returns with a new editor and a new roundup of the best short horror films that reflect the genre’s best and brightest up-and-coming talent. This month, we explore some festival darlings that are well worth seeking out. Our quartet of tasty horror bites ranges from a chilling Stephen King adaptation to a hilarious tale of young love and complicated families to an all-too-real satirization of corporate hell. Finally, we end on a high note with one chiller about the horrors of the dark web that you can watch right now for free on YouTube.

1. ONE FOR THE ROAD (10 minutes)

Salem’s Lot, published in 1975, is one of Stephen King’s most popular and enduring novels, revitalizing the vampire genre by setting a Dracula-like story in a small American town, blending the supernatural with everyday life. Given the popularity and influence of this timeless tale of good vs. evil, it’s unsurprising that King’s short story “One for the Road” — first published in 1977 in Maine Magazine and later included in his 1978 short story collection Night Shift — was so well-received by fans and critics.

The story is a direct sequel to Salem’s Lot, set two years after the novel’s events and revisiting the eerie, vampire-infested town of Jerusalem’s Lot.

The latest filmmaking team to adapt this enduring horror tale is writer Corey Slater and director Daniel Carsenty, a documentary filmmaker who credits King with helping him transition into narrative filmmaking, using genre elements to tell the same stories about the darkness of humanity that he did in his documentaries.

This haunting story with a potent payoff follows two truckers, Booth (Alexander Flores) and Took (Travis Hammer), stopping for a 3 a.m. meal at an empty all-night diner.

A distraught and disheveled stranger (Richard Clarke Larsen) enters the establishment, mumbling a single phrase on repeat: “Old Mill Road.” The very concerned waitress, Gale (Katie Adler), looks to the men for support. Worried the stranger’s family may be in peril, they drive him to Old Mill Road, only to discover that something far more sinister may be at play.

Carsenty and Slater pay ample respect to King’s story while still crafting a short but mightily effective tale that stands on its own merits.

Aided by a strong cast and stellar aesthetics, the filmmakers make a very simple and straightforward story compelling.

It’s a chilling ten-minute exercise in tension and an exploration of the fear of others and outsiders that permeated the socio-political landscape of the 1970s and 80s due to Cold War tensions, economic uncertainty, and a backlash against the liberal movements of the previous decade.

By exploiting the very human fear that kindness is weakness and “no good deed goes unpunished,” this terrifying tale is firmly rooted in a turbulent time that feels eerily relevant in today’s cultural landscape, where politicians are once again stoking the fires of polarization and capitalizing on fear to gain support, resulting in increased xenophobia and racism.

In One for the Road, the fear is warranted; the monsters are real.

Yet, it is a powerful allegory for the most dangerous threat of all—the threat of human nature, which views outsiders as enemies and equates different with monstrous.

One for the Road will be screening on August 11, 2024, at HollyShorts.

2. Fck’n Nuts (11 minutes)

With a title like Fck’n Nuts, you should be expecting something… well, you know… and boy, oh boy, does this short deliver!

This wildly fun absurdist horror-comedy from writer-director Sam Fox has only ten short minutes to make its mark, and it wastes no time announcing its audacious presence and immediately reeling the viewer in.

There’s a good reason this short made a significant splash on the 2023 festival circuit. It’s a vibrant and quirky exploration of anxiety and familial expectations, wrapped in a stunning neon-soaked aesthetic reminiscent of classic horror comics.

As nutty as the film is—pun intended —it’s also surprisingly endearing, no doubt due to the personal nature of the storytelling.

Fox admits the film is based on her personal experience growing up with an insane family. The film effectively captures the angst of feeling different and insecure as an adolescent—worried about anything that makes you seem odd or puts you in the position of an outsider.

Fantastic gross-out effects and a brilliant blend of absurdist comedy with horror make this a must-watch.

A distraught teen named Sandy (Maddie Nichols, The Boogeyman) lies in bed fretting over her relationship with her boyfriend, Dan (Vincent Stalba, The Blood of the Dinosaurs). She’s decided she needs to break up with him. But when he unexpectedly arrives at her home bearing flowers and a sincere declaration of love, she finds it impossible to let him go.

When Dan insists he finally meets her parents, she urges him to reconsider, stressing that they are nuts and making herself sick from worry. Dan shrugs off the theatrics, confidently asserting any odd behavior will not phase him; he can charm even the toughest nuts to crack.

Meanwhile, brief glimpses of what awaits the young couple inside put viewers on edge, creating a palpable sense of eerie unease.

Witty, entertaining, and unexpected, the film delivers one hell of a payoff that subverts expectations and playfully explores the idea of miscommunication in relationships.

In short, Fck’n Nuts is a fck’n delight with its masterful use of color and set design, creative editing, top-notch score, and exceptional performances.

Fck’n Nuts will premiere on the Arrow streaming platform on August 9th and will be showcased by Screambox (Bloody Bites Season 11) in September/October.

3. BURNOUT (12 minutes)

Burn Out, the latest short film from writer-director Russell Goldman, is a thrilling and darkly comedic exploration of workplace pressure taken to grotesque extremes. This gonzo horror-comedy masterfully blends body horror with biting social commentary, creating a uniquely captivating viewing experience.

Goldman’s direction is sharp and assured, maintaining a palpable sense of tension from the first frame. The film’s high-octane pacing perfectly mirrors the breakneck work environment it satirizes.

At its core, Burn Out is a scathing critique of the disastrous compromises we make with our bodies and minds in pursuit of professional success. The film’s premise, which puts an eager assistant looking to advance in the world of sports marketing in the literal hot seat, is both absurdly funny and deeply unsettling.

Former high-school football star Virgil (Everett Osborne), sidelined from his professional aspirations by an injury, now works at a low-level job in a sports marketing firm. He approaches his boss (Tommie Earl Jenkins) about a possible promotion. He’s given a chance to prove himself by creating a detailed presentation on what he thinks he’ll bring to the table — and just how far he’s willing to go for excellence.

Driven by his boss’s endless stream of inspirational platitudes about teamwork and perseverance, like “When they ask what you do, always say, ‘Whatever it takes,'” he works diligently but finds that getting over the goal line will require much more than hard work and a can-do attitude.

A potent metaphor for the apathy and agony of the modern workplace, Burn Out will surely unnerve anyone with an arsenal of corporate horror stories.

Having worked as an assistant himself on film and television sets, Goldman understands the relentless drive to make a name for yourself while paying your dues — and that all-too-familiar feeling that nothing, no matter how harrowing, can stand in the way of achieving success.

Goldman assisted David Gordon Green on 2018’s Halloween and Jamie Lee Curtis on Halloween Kills. Curtis herself executive produced Burn Out, which is a real testament to the impression he made on her and the talent he brings to the table.

The performances in Burn Out are stellar. Jenkins and Osborne bring a raw intensity to their roles that amplifies the film’s horror elements while maintaining its dark humor. Their commitment to the material elevates Goldman’s already strong script, resulting in characters that are both outlandish and disturbingly relatable.

The film’s technical prowess is evident in every frame, from its visual style and gorgeously cinematic lighting and framing to its spectacular makeup effects. However, what truly sets Burn Out apart is its ability to balance horror and comedy without sacrificing either’s impact.

Goldman deftly navigates this tonal tightrope, delivering pulse-pounding thrills and laughs in equal measure while never losing sight of the film’s potent underlying message.

Burn Out is currently touring the festival circuit. It made its World Premiere at Dances with Films in Los Angeles on June 27th and was recently screened at the 2024 Chattanooga Film Festival.

4. THE QUEUE (11 minutes)

The internet is full of darkness, danger, and dirty little secrets. Some of us seek out a bit of that nastiness, drawn to the web’s more sinister realms like moths to a flame, consumed by the promise of glimpsing something forbidden — something we know we shouldn’t be seeing. Others try to shield themselves as much as possible from the ugliness, avoiding that which, once seen, cannot be unseen. Even those who crave a bit of darkness generally aren’t seeking the most shocking and explicit reflections of man’s most heinous and depraved tendencies.

To protect the vulnerable, unsuspecting community, many social media sites and online forums employ content moderators in charge of removing violent and perverse user content.

Michael Rich’s short film The Queue explores voyeurism and the blurred lines between reality and fiction in the digital age. It raises uncomfortable questions about our collective appetite for shocking content and the psychological toll it takes on those tasked with moderating it.

The film unsettles viewers without relying on explicit gore. Instead, it plays with the power of suggestion, leaving much to the imagination and proving that what’s left unseen can be far more horrifying than what’s shown on screen.

Rich has crafted a taut, unsettling experience that delves into the dark corners of human nature.

In the film, a recovering addict named Cole (Burt Bulos), who lost a lucrative career in tech, is trying to get back on his feet by accepting a controversial job as a content moderator. His gruff trainer shows him to his bleak office and warns him that he’s about to enter an unspeakable world of nightmarish imagery that will forever change him.

Cole is convinced he’s got a strong enough constitution to handle whatever is thrown his way. But it’s not long before he realizes the content he must scrub — including scenes of real-life horror ranging from mass shootings to snuff films to acts of terrorism — is much more upsetting than he bargained for.

As Cole begins to explore the files on his computer belonging to a former employee, he realizes the horrifying extent of the damage that can be done by prolonged exposure to absolute barbarism.

Technically, The Queue impresses with its tight audio-visual presentation. The cinematography and sound design work in tandem to create a claustrophobic, anxiety-inducing experience that pulls viewers into the protagonist’s deteriorating mental state.

Seek out The Queue for its fresh take on contemporary fears, masterful tension-building, and ability to provoke thought long after viewing.

The Queue was a huge festival hit before landing on YouTube in early April 2024. It’s now free to watch here.