Listed below are the Top 10 Finalists of the 2021 Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition. These exceptional screenplays were selected from 952 submissions. Congratulations to the writers who have made it this far and thanks to all for submitting!
Stay tuned for our Top 3 winners announcement here on April 26! And if you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via our newsletter here.
Click here to congratulate the Top 10 on Twitter!
Here are the Top 10 Finalists:
| WRITER/S | TITLE |
| TREVOR LANZ | 350 |
| RICHARD KARPALA | Chocolate Monster Cookie, Bottomless Popcorn & Help Me I’m In Trouble |
| VANESSA BRANCH | Copy Cat |
| AUSTIN KASE | Hide Your Crazy |
| BRIAN LISI | My Inner Demon Rebecca Wants To Kill Me |
| LILY CITRIN | Ride or Die |
| TRAVIS JONES | Savage |
| ERIC ROBINSON | The Mole |
| SARAH RICHARDSON | Thirsty |
| ALESSANDRA JARA DEL CASTILLO | This Hunger |
The Tickle People by SCOTT BETTS, Graveyard Gossip by MARISA MARTINEZ, Improper Dosage by ADAM MCDANIEL, Scratch by GREGORY SAHADACHNY and Blood Bike by GERARD HARTLAND also received honorable mentions.
The finalist’s scripts shocked, intrigued, disturbed, horrified and impressed our readers. The screenplays will now be shared with our exciting panel of judges, who are tasked with selecting a Top 3 and overall winner!
Sophie Carroll 
Barbara Crampton 
Julian Terry 
Joe Bob Briggs 
Jenn Wexler 
Krista Sipp 
Matthew Dartnell 
John Zaozirny 
Chelsea Lupkin 
Bad Idea 
Scott Carr 
Good Fear Content
The Top 10 screenwriters will receive a free copy of Final Draft 11, the industry standard screenwriting software, Creepy Co. Gift Cards, plus increased rank on Coverfly’s The Red List…but who will win the coveted skull typewriter trophy designed by Tyler Green FX Studio? Stay tuned!!
The Finalists were announced first in the Screenwriters Network discord server, a community of over 5000 screenwriters and the presenting sponsor of Killer Shorts. Join the server to connect with other writers here. (it’s free)
Congratulations again to our Season 2 finalists, honorable mentions, and every screenwriter who was inspired to write a killer short!
Big thanks to our sponsors Shudder, Final Draft, Rue Morgue, Creepy Co, Ghoulish Gary, The Script Butcher, Coverfly, Filmfreeway, The Screenwriters Network, ISA, 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Slasher App, Trick or Treat Studios, Waxwork Records and Fright Rags.
Thanks also to our festival partners, and the following Womxn & BIPOC organizations: The Write or Die Chicks, Women Make Movies, Ladima Foundation, NYWIFT, African American Women in Cinema, The Light Leaks, Hedgebrook, Screen Queens, Rianne Pictures, Alliance of Women Directors, LIFTT, Black Screenwriters, Ms. In the Biz, and Indigenous Australian Filmmakers.
Big thanks to our sponsors Shudder, Final Draft, Rue Morgue, Creepy Co, Ghoulish Gary, The Script Butcher, Coverfly, Filmfreeway, The Screenwriters Network, ISA, 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Slasher App, Trick or Treat Studios, Waxwork Records and Fright Rags.
