Film Fests
The Short Films of Tokyo Horror Film Festival 2026
I’ve covered hundreds of festivals since starting my writing career. Out of all of the festivals I cover, Tokyo Horror Film Festival remains supreme. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that festivalgoers, and even the filmmakers involved, don’t realize. The team behind the Tokyo Horror Film Festival is beyond hospitable and genuinely great people. It’s truly the highlight of my year when this festival comes around. Let’s take a look at some of the amazing short films that played this year’s fest!
Stand Out Shorts at Tokyo Horror Film Festival 2026
A Última Fita
Written and Directed by Caroline Adrielli
A nice getaway turns into literal hell for a group of friends. After arriving at the house, they stumble upon a set of VHS tapes that depict some rather horrific crimes. But that’s not all they find. When one of the friends finds a camcorder, all hell breaks loose.
The Last Tape is an incredibly fun and gnarly take on the found-tape trope. Post-Sinister, this niche subgenre became incredibly tricky to tackle. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of Sinister 2, the death tapes in those films really set a bar. Writer/director Caroline Adrielli scales the found tapes in this film to a level that perfectly suits its tone and atmosphere. It’s delightfully mean and wholly creative. If this isn’t a proof of concept for something larger, I’d be surprised!
They Rose From the Grave and It Was… The Apocalypse!
Written and directed by Domenico Montixi // Music by Fulci
A rogue pastor attempted to open the gates of hell in 1880. Four mercenaries stopped him. Now, two people accidentally bring the pastor back to life after a botched trip to a psychic. The mercenaries and the pastor work their way through hapless victims, and only the people who brought them back can bring an end to it all.
Incredibly fun and fantastically horrifying, They rose from the grave and it was… the Apocalypse! brings a very fresh take to 70s and 80s-esque euro horror. It’s a gorgeous homage to one of horror’s greatest eras. Domenico Montixi expertly brings the styles of Italian greats and Jean Rollin into a final product that feels incredibly original. From some genuinely gorgeous practicals to a hell of a score from Fulci, this film is a fantastical visual treat.
Gosei
Written and directed by Dani Alías
Day in and day out, everything is the same. Go to work, go home. The only way to overcome the monotony of everyday life is to grow with it. But at what cost?
Gosei is a short and sweet piece of techno horror that builds a bigger universe than it needs to…and it’s better for it. Dani Alias’s film comments on the inefficiency of over-efficiency; it’s a somber look at the true implications of extreme technological “revolutions.” What’s most impressive about Gosei is how ambiguously revealing it is. It keeps you engaged by giving you just enough to put the pieces together, while still remaining ambiguous enough to be thought-provoking.
Oh, and I believe a film from Dani Alias and Timo Tjahjanto would absolutely rip.
3:03 AM
Written and directed by Koya Denton, creature design and SFX by Suzi Battersby (BadGirlFX)
While watching a royalty-free cartoon at night, Michelle (Ibinabo Jack) hears a very strange sound.
Just like Gosei, 3:03 AM is short, sweet, and to the point. Koya Denton creates the perfect conduit for Suzi Battersby’s creature to shine. But what makes this film so great is how you are left to see the creature in short bursts. (Although I did pause the film at the exact moment of the creature to get a good look and BOY HOWDY does that thing look gnarly!) To me, 3:03 AM has the trappings to be as successful as the Lights Out short was.
Very Prosperous Men
Written by Josh Oakley and Josiah Walker // directed by Josiah Walker
Cordial Steward (Scott Subiono) is training a soon-to-be bible salesman, Kindly Gent (Dustin Ingram), on the ins and outs of what it takes to be successful. But an accident leads Kindly Gent down a path that questions his righteousness and life. This all leads to a question of whether God truly forgives, and what lurks beyond the unknown.
Aside from the name, Very Prosperous Men feels very Cohen-y (in the best way possible). It stands along the likes of Francis Galluppi’s Last Stop in Yuma County for Cohen-like films that feel inspired while staying wholly original. Very Prosperous Men is a uniquely fun film with well-written characters, a story you won’t necessarily see coming, and enough viscera and sinew to please genre fans.
Also, one quick thing to note. This film takes place in the 60s, and that’s something you don’t see short films do much anymore. When it comes to short films, you have a duty to tell as whole a story as you can, while still making it visually entertaining. Short films don’t often have the ability, either due to budget or time, to craft a period piece. Josiah Walker and the entire team involved expertly design the feeling of the 1960s (or at least, it portrays the 60s in a way that I’ve seen in film). Taking a risk like this for a short film can go either way, and Very Prosperous Men crafts the perfect period piece.
Tasty Bones
Written and directed by Ronald Short // creature design by Eugene Ferrer III & Other Side Prints
A gorgeous woodland outing between a group of friends turns deadly [cute] when a mysterious creature appears from the woods.
The Whistler is just a little [big] guy! Eugene Ferrer III and Other Side Prints’ creature is so freaking cute! I can’t get over the design of this killer creature. There isn’t too much to say about Tasty Bones other than it’s hopefully a proof of concept for a larger-scale production of The Whistler…because I would watch a feature-length version of this!
Room 404
Written and directed by Itsuki Kadota
A young woman finds herself working behind the front desk of a sex motel. One night, she gets a call from a patron who asks for a wellness check in room 404, as strange noises are emanating from the room. But what she finds in the room changes her whole outlook on life.
Room 404 is a nasty piece of genre that’s as heartbreaking as it is startling. Don’t let this film’s cheery disposition fool you. If you allow it to, Room 404 will rip your heart out of your chest and laugh in your face. If someone tells you they see this ending coming, they’re lying. Itsuki Kadota’s film does something that many short films struggle with: making you feel. If you find yourself at a festival and see that Room 404 is playing, you better make damn sure you take the opportunity to see it.
Prey Kill Fuck Repeat
Written and directed by Rauli Ylitalo
A young lady (Jaana Joensuu) finds herself on the run from three Mad Max-looking troublemakers. But not all is as it seems when the tables get turned.
Prey Kill Fuck Repeat walks a tightrope of good taste that barely redeems itself by the end. To the point of frustration, it begins to feel like a film you need to turn off, but it ultimately redeems itself in a brutally satisfying way. The main issue I have with this short is how comedic it is. Yeah, the comedy lands, but it teeters between good and bad taste to the point of tedium.
Necrosectos
Written and directed by Javier Lozano Sánchez
A horde of tiny insects invades a home, leaving nothing but havoc in their wake.
I don’t know about you, but I always get emotional when a film starts with a tribute to the filmmaker’s parents. Necrosectos fades from black to a simple “a mi padre”. While searching for actor/filmmaker information for this film, I found an interview with the filmmaker that helps put this film into perspective. Javier Lozano Sánchez had plans to make a film with his parents, but after coming up with the idea, his father tragically passed away. A few years later, he decided to bring the project back and cast his mother as the lead.
Necrosectos shows the true beauty of independent filmmaking. It’s gorgeously shot and extremely well executed, and nearly everything was done by Javier. In fact, I learned in the interview that he learned how to do VFX just to make this film. Rather than trying to beat around the bush, teasing you to get amped up to check this film out, I’d much prefer to take a simpler approach.
You need to see Necrosectos. The beauty and craft behind this project seeps through each frame. If you have the opportunity to check out Necrosectos, then please go see it.
Last week, the Fantasia International Film Festival wrapped up yet another stellar year of madness and mayhem after showcasing over 120 feature films and over 200 shorts from 54 different countries. At the opening ceremony, artistic director Mitch Davis enthusiastically reflected on the festival’s 30 years of cutting-edge film programming. At the festival’s inception and for many years, the programming team would seek out international films that could not secure distribution in the North American market (and those that did would often end up modified and heavily edited, something Davis called “a constant cultural crime”). Recently, streaming platforms have completely changed the game. “It’s a miracle that Fantasia has lasted the way that it has,” said Davis while praising the team of programmers for continuing to support indie genre filmmaking.
Fantasia Film Festival 2026 Round Up
One thing that remains consistent at Fantasia International Film Festival is a dedication to featuring films made by human labor in all sorts of creative ways. Practical effects reigned supreme, and audiences reacted enthusiastically to anything that challenged filmmaking norms. Here are some of our highlights from the fest that showcased those values. (For coverage of our absolute favs, check out these articles about Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Mum I’m Alien Pregnant, Castration Movie and Corpus)
No Rest for the Wicked
This dark gothic tale from the remote Faroe Islands truly enthralled audiences. Director Kasper Kalle gave his actors plenty of space to long after one another while showcasing the stunning, dramatic landscape of the islands. The premise may be simple, but the execution is perfect, and it’s no wonder that Kalle took home the Cheval Noir award for directing (as did actor Pilou Asbaek for his performance).
Nightborn
Hanna Bergholm’s follow up to her debut Hatching (2022) stars Seidi Haarla as a new mum (alongside Rupert Grint as her husband) who moves to the Finnish countryside to restore her childhood cottage. Motherhood proves way more challenging than she expects, and her newborn child doesn’t quite match her expectations. Nightborn truly goes off the rails while blending both body and folk horror, and took home the top prize for Best Film at the festival.
Drag
Lucy DeVito and Lizzie Caplan star in this thriller about two sisters trying to break out of a mansion that they broke into. The less said the better about the plot, but it’s safe to say that the situation escalates dramatically. The construction of this story expertly uses detail to play with tension and humor, which makes it really fun to watch alongside a rambunctious crowd.
I Love Paris
This vampire mockumentary follows an ambitious Parisian wannabe pop star (who dubs herself Paris) as she tries to secure a coveted spot at an upcoming music festival with a little help from supernatural forces. Aminata Thiboult nails the titular role as she and her friends rampage across the city seeking both fame and blood.
Black Zombie
Maya Annik Bedward does an incredible job of weaving together the history of Haiti, Voodoo, and the zombie mythology in this must-see documentary. The story of what it took to get this film completed perhaps deserves its own documentary. “We started filming in LA in March 2020, so I was in LA when the whole world shut down,” Bedward told us at the premiere, adding “after that, things changed a lot.” She explained that after Haiti’s president was assassinated in 2021, “things have just become more and more difficult for people in Haiti and I’d say the majority of the people who were involved in the film – if they could leave, they’ve left.”
Colony
Director Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) returns to the zombie genre with this fast-paced gonzo action-horror hybrid about a group of strangers trying to escape a horde of people who seemingly share a hive mind. It’s fun, it’s dumb, and it has a very high body count.
Buddy
What if Barney the purple dinosaur was an orange unicorn, and was also evil? That is basically the story of Buddy, a demonic beast masquerading as a beloved children’s TV show as he summons his victims to his universe. Too Many Cooks creator Casper Kelly delivers this madhouse of a film full of gorgeous sets, practical effects, and lots of fantastic gore.
Short Films Matter at Fantasia Film Festival Too!
The short film program is just as important as the features, and this year we saw some real knockouts! Sleep Through Summer stunned audiences with its eerie dystopian punishment system, and I Walked Through The Wall was notable for its creativity and acting. Needle had us all squirming and cringing through its final moments, and the sheer scope of The Pigs Underneath left an unforgettable impression.
Honorable mentions!
- Ferine was an absolutely bonkers modern giallo bloodfest with a magnificent score.
- Home Bodies, a locked room story about two siblings being raised by a disembodied voice, had the best production design of any film we saw.
- Godhead is Mark H Rappaport’s (slightly) less disturbing follow-up to his cult hit Hippo. Here he delivers another stunning visual feast.
- The Glorious Dead is the latest entry from festival favs The Adams Family. They applied their unique community style of filmmaking to an apocalyptic horror show set in a snow-covered small town, and the result will absolutely please their fans.
On a personal note, it’s always a joy to immerse myself in such a crazy festival like Fantasia. Shout out to the staff and volunteers who keep the whole event running, and see you next year!
Corpus
Corrin Evans premiered her debut feature film Corpus at Fantasia Film Festival.
Corpus is a steamy thriller set in 1997 New York, which follows a group of friends who travel to a remote mansion for a party, though what they find is not quite what they expected.
Intimacy and consent are at the heart of this film. The characters often long for and lust after each other, and Evans makes sure that the audience feels every breath and every touch. The film looks exquisite, thanks in part to cinematographer Charlie Cole. Together they designed a lighting setup using either natural lighting or very hot tungsten lights (which added to the steamy aesthetic). “I just love the body,” explained Evans at the world premiere in Montreal. “I knew I wanted it to feel very visceral and flowing from the gut, like you’re really with these characters up close. I wanted to be able to feel skin and pores.”
Having worked as an intimacy coordinator for several years, Evans brought her industry experience to both the story and her directing choices. Co-writer and actor Lily Cowles (who plays Billie in the film) praised Evans for her directing style. “I’ve often thought the reason that you’re a good director is the same reason you’re a good intimacy coordinator.” Cowles continued, adding that “when you’re on set, there’s a level of safety and an openness, and you can really trust that Corrin’s going to keep you in that pocket.”
So much of Corpus was crafted by the hands of the cast and the crew. Many of the effects were done practically (including one devastating moment that we will not spoil here), and the main location – an old mansion – was dressed and designed to feel authentically lived in. Even the score, composed by VAAAL (pronounced like wall with a v), was created using an organic process. “ I’ve been wanting to work with him forever,” explained Evans about their collaboration. “He’s an insane musician.”
Corpus will leave your skin crawling in all the best possible ways.
Castration Movie Chapter iii.ii Junior Ghosts—Premorphic Drift; a fragmentary passage
Louise Weard showcased an excerpt from the third part of her anthology epic Castration Movie at Fantasia Film Festival last month.
Weard’s epic anthology film is all about exploring “trans-temporality”, as she explained to the Fantasia crowd. “Your timeline gets so skewed in an interesting way, where transition becomes this benchmark.” Her original intent was to release one long 24h film as a way to reclaim that lost time, so to speak. She uses her family’s digital camcorder to shoot everything and uses tapes of her as a child to record and re-record her footage. She writes, directs, shoots, and edits everything, often exploring very dark topics.
While this may sound intimidating on paper, Weard writes with a vicious sense of humor, and has an excellent sense of how to balance sincerity with cringe. This particular section focuses its story on a romantic couple as one partner transitions. Weard’s excerpt produced maybe the most visceral reactions of the festival, with audience members actively heckling one of the onscreen characters during the film’s final act. While previous chapters have featured both graphic and sexually explicit content, this part focused instead on a kind of deep emotional trauma that is usually left to the most toxic of internet forums.
“This movie is my parody of Lawrence Anyways,” quipped Weard (who is trans herself) as the audience was still reeling from the film. She went on to explain how often trans stories are told from the perspective of the cis gaze, that the narrative arc focuses on how a cis person feels about another person’s transness. Weard’s camera work often zooms into the cis partner’s eyes as they watch their trans partner go about their day. “We’re going to really put that gaze under the microscope, almost literally in terms of how zoomed in we are on those eyes. And I think it creates a horror atmosphere in a lot of ways.”
The full scope of Castration Movie is yet to be revealed. Castration Movie Anthology i: Traps has a daunting runtime of 4h 35m, while Castration Movie Anthology ii: The Best of Both Worlds runs 5h. The excerpt presented at Montreal’s International Fantasia Festival ran 2h 10m, though Weard plans to release the full Castration Movie Anthology iii: Year of the Hyaena later this year, and is already working on an Anthology IV and V. “I like to think of it at this point like show running. Because it’s been literally nonstop production for coming up on four years. I’ve been shooting every weekend for four years.”
Weard was working as a PA when she started shooting her film, but “unfortunately, I kept running out of money,” she laughed, and of course the 2023 writer’s strike did not help her situation. She decided to release segments of her film to raise funds so she could keep shooting. With this specific 2h segment, Weard hopes to bring more audiences into her universe. “This gets to be the easy access point where someone can demo the castration movie experience for just two hours and decide if they want to commit to the whole 24-hour endeavor,” she chuckled.
