If you’re submitting to the Killer Shorts Contest and you happen to be falling short on fresh ideas for your short horror screenplay, one of the best things to do to get your creative gears turning is to watch or read horror stories. Watching or reading other content gets us thinking and gives us our own ideas that we can build on and flesh out. Consuming content gives us a world of opportunity and allows our own imagination to run free. The following is a compiled list of brilliant must-watch horror short films that may have flown under your radar. Written well, crafted well, and full of hair-raising, spine-tingling moments, these 10 are sure to give you the inspiration you need to move your writing forward.
Reverse
A man attempts to exit an underground car park. Something doesn’t want him to.
Directed by: Josh Tanner
Written by: Jade van der Lei & Josh Tanner
Runtime: 5 mins.
Breathe
A ghost story about a girl you can only see when you hold your breath.
Directed by: Toby Meakins
Written by: Toby Meakins and Simon Allen
Runtime: 5 mins.
The Stylist
A psychopathic hairstylist collects scalps and wears them — in an attempt to escape herself.
Directed by: Jill Gervargizian
Screenplay by: Eric Havens
Story by: Jill Gervargizian
Runtime: 13 mins.
The Crossing
Once late at night in the underpass, a woman encounters a mysterious and scary creature.
Written & Directed by: Arseny Syuhin
Runtime: 7 mins.
La Noria
A young boy who loves to draw and build ferris wheels encounters strange creatures that turn his life upside down.
Written & Directed by: Carlos Baena
Runtime: 13 mins.
Invaders
A pair of home invaders consider their potential character choices just prior to their planned invasion.
Written & Directed by: Jason Kupfer
Runtime: 6 mins.
Acide
A young family desperately seeks shelter from an approaching storm – but this is no ordinary rain. It burns.
Directed by: Just Phillippot
Runtime: 18 mins.
Waffle
While at a sleepover with a socially awkward, mysteriously orphaned heiress, a young woman learns the hard way that her newfound companion always gets what she wants.
Directed by: Carlyn Hudson
Written by: Katie Marovitch & Kerry Barker
Runtime: 11 mins.
The Moonlight Man & The Moonlight Man 2
1. A girl walking to her car at night sees a strange figure standing in the darkness. / 2. A man meets something unexpected in an underground parking garage.
Written & Directed by: Danny Donahue
Runtimes: 3 mins. / 4 mins.
There are plenty more horror shorts that you can find for inspiration all over the internet, but the ones on this list really stand out. Between the cinematography, the monster design, the sound design, and the perfect tension-building, you can learn a lot from these films to help guide you in writing your own.
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