Many filmmakers start their careers by making short films, and in the world of horror movies, these were the beginning of some of the best films the genre has seen. Short films are a great way for new filmmakers to show their talent and style, and more often than not, they lead to bigger projects and boost their careers. Short films are now more popular thanks to the film industry giving more attention to them by making them more accessible, as they are often shown only at festivals, though many can be found on platforms like YouTube.
Although there are short films from pretty much all genres, horror short films are especially popular. Horror short films require a lot of narrative and visual skills in order to scare or unsettle the audience in a short period of time, and some of them have been so effective that they were turned into full-length features. Some of the horror movies made from short films are extended versions of the original story, while others had to go through many changes in order to work as full-length movies.
10 Andy Muschietti’s Mama
From Andy Muschietti’s Mama short film
Andy Muschietti’s directorial debut, Mama, was possible thanks to his three-minute short film of the same name. The Mama short film caught the attention of master of horror Guillermo del Toro, who in an introduction to the short explained that it was “essentially, one of the scariest little scenes I’ve ever seen” and was also not only well-made but “very claustrophobic”. Mama convinced del Toro to executive produce its feature-length adaptation, which was also directed by Muschietti. The short film follows sisters Lily and Victoria, who come across the unknown entity they call “Mama” at their home.
9 Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat
From Michael Dougherty’s Season’s Greetings animated short film
The anthology horror movie Trick ‘r Treat also owes its existence to a short film, though in this case, it was an animated one. Writer and director Michael Dougherty made the animated short film Trick ‘r Treat: Season’s Greetings in 1996 during his time at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Animation Department. Season’s Greetings marked the first appearance of Sam, the spirit of Halloween known for his orange footie pajama costume and scarecrow-like mask, and it follows the young trick-or-treater as he stays out past midnight on Halloween night looking for more candy. Although Trick ‘r Treat isn’t exactly an expansion or adaptation of Season’s Greetings, Sam was the inspiration for it as well as its mascot.
8 Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement’s What We Do In The Shadows
From Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement’s What We Do In The Shadows: Interviews With Some Vampires short film
Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s horror comedy What We Do in the Shadows started as a short film titled What We Do In The Shadows: Interviews With Some Vampires. The short was released in 2005 and was written and directed by Waititi and Clement, who starred in it alongside Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, and Stu Rutherford. Just like the movie, the What We Do in the Shadows short film is made in a mockumentary style following Viago (Waititi), Vladislav (Clement), and Deacon (Brugh) on a “normal” day, with the same type of comedy seen in the movie.
7 Fred Walton’s When a Stranger Calls
From Fred Walton & Steve Feke’s The Sitter short film
Fred Walton’s psychological horror film When a Stranger Calls is an expanded remake of his and Steve Feke’s 1977 short film The Sitter. According to Walton and Feke (via AFI), The Sitter was based on a newspaper article about a babysitter in Santa Monica, California, who received threatening phone calls from a stranger who was actually hiding inside the house.
The Sitter follows Jill Johnson (Lucia Stralser), who while babysitting the children of Dr. Mandrakis at his house, receives a call from a stranger asking if she has checked the children. After several calls, Jill calls the police, who later inform her the calls come from inside the house. Jill is unharmed when the police arrive, but the kids were murdered hours earlier.
6 Mike Flanagan’s Oculus
From Mike Flanagan’s Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan short film
In 2005, Mike Flanagan made the short film Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan, with only one actor, setting, and a mirror. Oculus: Chapter 3 sees the man’s attempts to capture the evil entity living in the mirror on camera, but this task soon takes a toll on his sanity. The short was a critical success, with studios interested in expanding it into a full-length movie. According to Flanagan (via Den of Geek), studios wanted to make Oculus as a found footage film, so he passed on different offers until Intrepid Pictures said they were interested as long as it wasn’t made as found footage.
5 Damien Leone’s All Hallows’ Eve & Terrifier
From Damien Leone’s The 9th Circle & Terrifier short films
The Terrifier franchise had its origins in two short films, both starring Art the Clown: The 9th Circle and Terrifier. The former sees Art going after a young woman in an empty train station on Halloween night, and he brings her to a satanic cult to use her as a sacrifice. In the Terrifier short, Art stalks a young woman who witnesses one of his murders. These shorts were the basis for the anthology movie All Hallows’ Eve, and were incorporated into it as short films on VHS tapes the protagonist watches with the children she’s babysitting. The shorts also inspired the slasher movie Terrifier, which firmly established Art as one of the most horrifying villains in modern horror.
4 Parker Finn’s Smile
From Parker Finn’s Laura Hasn’t Slept short film
Parker Finn’s supernatural horror movie Smile was one of 2022’s biggest surprises, and the short film that inspired it was also a success. Titled Laura Hasn’t Slept and released in 2020, it follows Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey) as she tells her therapist about a recurring nightmare about a sinister man who’s constantly smiling at her. However, Laura realizes she’s living her nightmare as the doctor’s phase morphs into a horrible creature that demands that Laura look at it. Laura escapes but the creature catches up with her, causing her to go insane. Smile is a continuation of the short, as in its first minutes, it shows what happened to Laura.
3 Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead
From Sam Raimi’s Within The Woods short film
In 1978, Sam Raimi made the short film Within the Woods, which served as the basis for the 1981 horror movie The Evil Dead. Within the Woods follows two couples who travel to a remote cabin in the woods for the weekend, but little do they know, they are about to be stalked by an unknown, evil force. Within the Woods starred Bruce Campbell as Bruce, but unlike his later role as Ash Williams in the world of The Evil Dead, he fell victim to this evil force and tried to kill his girlfriend, Ellen (Ellen Sandweiss).
2 Jennifer Kent’s Babadook
From Jennifer Kent’s Monster short film
Before The Babadook, there was Monster. Jennifer Kent’s 2005 short film follows a mother whose imaginative child is convinced there’s a monster in the house and that it’s going to harm them. The mother eventually comes across the monster and stops it from harming her son, and orders it to go back to the closet. Very much like in The Babadook, the monster isn’t completely gone, and the mother feeds it from time to time. Monster was shown at different festivals, gaining attention and allowing it to become a feature-length movie.
1 James Wan’s Saw
From James Wan & Leigh Whannell’s Saw short film
The Saw franchise was possible thanks to a short film by James Wan and Leigh Whannell. The Saw short film sees David (Whannell), a hospital orderly who tells a police officer about his kidnapping, during which he was forced to commit a horrific act in order to survive: take the key of the reverse bear trap on his head out of the body of another person, who was unconscious but alive. The Saw short not only introduced Jigsaw, Billy, and Jigsaw’s modus operandi, but also the reverse bear trap. Whannell also starred in the full-length adaptation of Saw, though as a different character.
Sources: AFI, Den of Geek.
