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!