Short films are one of my favorite parts of Final Girls Berlin Film Festival. Festival directors Elinor Lewy and Sara Neidorf always knock it out of the park with their short film block groupings and which films they pick for screening. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed by the blocks. While I can’t write about every single one, I wanted to take the time to highlight my top 10 favorite short films of their 10th Annual festival.

Due to the substance and quality of each short film, it wasn’t easy to narrow down the list to 10. It should be noted that with the exception of the films listed in the first and second spot, they aren’t in any specific order. (Because I couldn’t pick between two specific shorts, we’ll throw the 11th spot in here too!)

My 10 Favorite Shorts From Final Girls Berlin Festival 2025

11. Sugar Rag written by Spencer T. Heath & Jai Love // directed by Jai Love

Block 9: Pop Horror/Carnivalesque

Alfred’s (Carter Dau) parents come home to their expansive manor with a surprise…a baby brother! There’s something off about Alfred’s new brother Remus (Aaron Light), and Alfred can’t quite put his finger on it; maybe it’s the fact that Remus is a 6-foot-something man in a diaper with a baby’s head mask.

Sugar Rag is an insanely out-of-left-field short film that shocks and stings. Never in a million years would I have guessed where it would go next. The surprising idea by Heath and Love to have Remus be an adult male portraying a baby is something I need to see in a feature-length film. While it’s comedic for a good portion, Heath and Love do not let the short go gently into that good night. The climax is genuinely crazy and left me with my mouth agape. It makes sense that it’s on the Crypt TV YouTube channel.

10. Izzy written and directed by Yfke van Berckelaer

Block 1: Hostile Environments

Izzy (Nahéma Ricci) is sick and tired of being caught in the middle of everyone else’s crap. That’s when she decides a pop of color will liven things up.

Izzy is short, sweet, and direct to the point. It has a story to tell and refuses to linger one second longer. There’s something deeper to Izzy than I can pinpoint, but by the time the short was over, it made me want to improve myself and stop sitting idly by while others get what they want out of life.

9. Gaslighter written by Virginia Powers Hendry and Anastasia Washington // directed by Virginia Powers Hendry

Block 3: Het Horror

Anne (Anastasia Washington) gets home after a long day of work only to realize that things are off. The front door isn’t locked, the power is out, and something seems wrong. Anne’s partner, Jeff (Taylor Marr), doesn’t believe her. That’s when the film splits in two and gives us Until Dawn-like points of view. Will Anne stay the night and face the evil in her house? Or will she leave the house like any normal person would?

Gaslighter puts to test the idea of audience reactions. How many times have you watched a horror film and shouted at the screen, “RUN! LEAVE THE HOUSE!” Hendry and Washington play with that idea by putting all the tropes out there and letting Anne make the choices for herself. It’s a fun play on the genre that works well for a short film but might not play as well if it were any longer.

8. Deep Cut written and directed by Michelle Farrah Huang

Block 1: Hostile Environments

Farrah (Michelle Farrah Huang) is on set for a film for the first time in years. She’s seemingly doing a good job, but the film’s director (Keir Gilchrist) doesn’t seem pleased. Farrah becomes friends with another actor named Jessie (Sugar Lyn Beard), and the two head to Farrah’s for a night of drinking. But Jessie seems too big of a fan of Farrah’s previous work and will do anything to ensure their film succeeds.

Deep Cut is meta and fascinating in an incredibly original way. You think you know where it’s going but get crisscrossed by the end. Huang’s story succeeds in its current form but would greatly benefit from a feature-length version. Huang and Gilchrist have great chemistry both when they’re friends and when they’re…not. It’s fairly straightforward visually but doesn’t fail to capture and keep the viewer’s attention.

7. Dark Mommy written by Courtney Eck and James P. Gannon // directed by Courtney Eck

Block 1: Hostile Environments

Ben (Ben Chandler) is a quiet man who spends his nights working as a solo dispatcher for his small town’s 911 call center. What seems like a prank call turns into a night of terror that might be a sign of something bigger to come.

As someone who works in overnight emergency dispatch, this one hit a little hard for me. Being the only person in a four-story building in midtown Manhattan sans a security guard can get slightly overwhelming. That being said, I would kill to dispatch in a town like Ben’s. The whole idea of Dark Mommy (Uranbileg Angarag) is brilliant and the effects by Ravenous Studios on Dark Mommy look stellar. As I’ve said many times throughout this list, so far, Dark Mommy would make a KILLER Malum-esque feature-length film. If you get a chance to see this at a festival, do not miss it.

6. How To Stay Awake written and directed by Vanessa Magic

Block 5: Midnight

Helen (Preeti Torul) will do anything to stay awake because if she falls asleep…the Night Witch (Hannan Younis) comes.

I have terrible insomnia, and working overnights probably doesn’t help. Helen’s plight is something I’m all too familiar with (though to a much lesser extent of a Night Witch). Vanessa Magic expertly crafted a story of what it feels like to not feel in control of your body and how powerless it can be. The sound design works wonders for the film, but I could have used a lot less high-pitched ringing–that’s what made me go from loving this short to liking it. Don’t get me wrong, I understand it, but it was too much. Overall, Magic created a visually intriguing piece of horror that gave me two separate nightmares.

5. It Came From Inside! written and directed by Aura Martinez Sandoval and Jackson Rees

Block 7: Queer Horror

It’s Halloween night! Vicky (Gentry Loghry) and her partner Oliver (Luke Harger) are relaxing after a party. An explosion outside piques their interest and changes their lives forever.

If you’re a fan of retro ’80s horror, then It Came From Inside! will be right up your alley. It has the trappings of Raimi, Dekker, and Henenlotter while still keeping an updated visual style. Full of some excellent practicals, this short reads like an open lines call from Coast to Coast with Art Bell. No notes!

4. The Blue Diamond written by Sam Fox and Addison Heimann // directed by Sam Fox

Block 4: Cults

Alison (Desiree Staples) is overseeing the funeral for her cult leader mother, Jacqueline (Barbara Crampton). Alison has stayed away from the cult this long…can she make it through the afterparty?

Cult horror isn’t usually my thing, but I still give them a shot. The Blue Diamond is an incredibly fun take on cults and how they affect those who are closest to the leader. Alison is a well-written character, and Desiree Staples does a fantastic job of portraying her. And I mean, Barbara Crampton is Barbara Crampton! There’s a fun twist that takes this short in a direction most in this subgenre don’t take, and I found it to be generally refreshing. So what are you waiting for? Let’s all go down the blue diamond together!

3. Micro-Short written and directed by Beth Fletcher

Block 5: Midnight

Don’t get between Dani (Hannah Myers) and her microwave.

Micro-Short is an excellent piece of avant-garde madness. Fletcher’s story and direction are expertly lensed by Maddy Talias, who knows HOW to work a camera. For a [very] short film about a woman and a microwave that takes place in a single room, Talias shoots the hell out of this short. I was insanely blown away by the filmmaking in Micro-Short.

2. Last to Leave written and directed by Mary Elizabeth Ellis

Block 5: Midnight

Brunette (Ginger Gonza) and Blonde (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) arrive at a bar right at last call. The women seem slightly off, but the remaining bar patrons are more than happy to have them join for a drink—big mistake.

When I saw Mary Elizabeth Ellis on screen, I jumped off my couch with excitement. I was even more excited when I saw she wrote and directed this. One of my favorite things is when A-list talent steps out of their comfort zones to make shorts/features that are completely different from their main body of work. Not only was I excited to see Ellis, but I was also genuinely surprised by how good this short was. This short plays it close to the chest, but when it’s ready to rip, it rips. I’ll only say this one more time: I really hope Last to Leave gets a feature adaptation. There are great intricacies to Brunette and Blonde, and it would be great to see Ellis expand on them.

1. Bloody Hell written by Lena Albin // directed by Lena Albin and Jayden Rathsam Hua

Block 5: Midnight

Sam (Sophia Morrison) is preparing for a night out with her friend Jacinta (Sophie Teo). But her period is far from her worst trouble tonight.

WOW. Absolutely, wow. Body horror is one of my favorite subgenres. While I find it enjoyable, it’s hard for body horror to make me physically nauseous. I really don’t want to say too much about Bloody Hell because it needs to be seen to be believed, but I want to give my props to Albin, Hua, makeup artists Lara Franzi and Maddison Gray, and SFX coordinator Briana Garbutt. This short film is one bloody hell of a good time.

Happy Festival, Final Girls Berlin! It was a pleasure, as always, and I’m looking forward to next year’s fest!

Shudder has compiled a pretty cool list of horror movies this March. The streamer is really looking out for us and has something for every kind of genre fan. Are you the kind of nerd who wants to watch The Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead (2013) back to back? They have you covered. Does the recent release of The Monkey make you want to revisit some Stephen King classics? Then hop in when Christine rolls onto the streamer this month. Do you just want to watch Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) without commercial breaks? Well, Shudder is that girl again. There is plenty to choose from this month, and I am living my best life. I am so pleased to present these five titles I plan on flirting with this month.

The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month

30 Days Of Night (2007)

An Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month as it is attacked by a vicious vampire gang. This movie made vampires cool again, and we are all forever in its debt. As a basic girl, I ran at this title because I wanted to see what Josh Hartnett was doing. However, I left convinced this might be one of the best vampire movies I had seen in my short lifetime. While I did not have a crush on Melissa George or Danny Huston, they are also pretty fantastic in this bloody film.

You can watch 30 Days Of Night on March 1st.

Silent Hill (2006)

A woman takes her adopted daughter to Silent Hill, hoping to cure her of her illness. However, they are separated after a car crash and must embark on a horrific journey to be reunited. This remains one of the best video game adaptations I have had the joy of seeing in theaters. This makes it special because I played way too many survival horror games as a kid and was disappointed in their big-screen adaptations. I am so excited that Shudder is giving us this unsettling gem this March.

You can watch Silent Hill on March 1st.

Out of the Dark (2014)

Young women working for a phone-sex company become the target of a serial killer. I am on a quest to watch as many 80s slashers as possible, and this is one of the titles I can never catch streaming. So, I am eager to dive into this title the second it lands on Shudder. I am also giddy because Karen Black and Divine are in the cast, so it already feels iconic. Hopefully, it is a little sleazy too, but beggers cannot be choosers. I cannot wait to take this journey and cross this movie off my list.

You can watch Out of the Dark on March 15th.

The Rule Of Jenny Pen (2024)

After suffering a stroke, a judge is sent to a retirement home where another patient uses a puppet to bully his fellow residents. This movie is so weird that I have no choice but to enjoy the ride. Come to see Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow battle it out, but stay because you will be too stunned to do anything else. This is possibly one of the best villains Lithgow has given us, and it is not for lack of trying. I truly think his chaotic Dexter and Ricochet characters would have become a version of this one. If they had met different endings, of course.

You can watch The Rule Of Jenny Pen on March 28th.

Starve Acre (2023)

A family’s picturesque life is thrown for a spin when their son begins to change. This movie has been roaming around since 2023, and I have not been able to get my hands on it. It is set in England in the 1970s and stars Matt Smith (His House, Doctor Who) and Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud). All of these things make me think it might be my new personality. So, Shudder is a saint for finally allowing us to check it out this month. I hope this kid is as creepy as he sounds because I have waited so long to see this film.

You can watch Starve Acre on March 7th.

As usual, Shudder is a horror lover’s best friend. Hope you enjoy these sick, weird, and new titles as much as I think I will this month. Happy Shudder Saturday (and Sunday) to all who partake!