Queer Fear 5: February 21, 2026
The Last Story on Earth | Dir. Aaron Immediato | Short, USA, 18 min
Facing angry protesters, a determined drag queen does her best to finish a fairy tale reading at the local library. But when an alien invasion upends Earth’s existence, the queen encounters new challenges that carry terrifying outcomes for humanity. Ultimately, it is the supreme power of imagination that holds the key to both the queen’s survival and the invaders’ domination.
SCRUMPTIOUS | Dir. Paul Jacob Presley | Short, USA, 8 min
A foxy thief gets more than she bargained for when a routine money drop turns to terror.
Evaders | Dir. Hudson Shelton | Short, USA, 15 min
In an authoritarian future America, the government controls gender and family life. Ziya and Walker, two 17-year-olds, anxiously await their next birthday, which marks their Specification ceremony: the day when they must choose to be male or female and will get sorted into nuclear families. The only way out is becoming the government’s greatest fear: Evaders, those who escape Specification and run away from society.
Mermaid | Dir. Jerry D. Ochoa | Short, USA, 10 min
Tobi, a trans man haunted by his mother’s death in a boating accident, clings to the belief that she survives beneath Lake Michigan as a mermaid calling him home. As his obsession deepens, his partner Hannah struggles to keep their love afloat before it slips beneath the waves.
Bitter Feast | Dir. Yishu Guan | Short, China, 15 min
A story about Su Li, a young girl trapped in psychological turmoil due to binge eating disorder, who faces emotional and moral trials as she struggles between breaking free from control and searching for her true self.
little death | Dir. Juno Rose | Short, USA, 5 min
A dissociative girl falls in love with a promiscuous lady after a series of hookups.
The Last Goodbye | Dir. Kailey Wolf | Short, USA, 16 min
After learning Iga, a woman she once went on a date with, is working at her grandmother's funeral service, Basia struggles to navigate her truth and her conservative familial pressure to conform, leading her to re-evaluate her life and take a leap of faith into the unknown.
Bereaved | Dir. Avery Paty | Short, USA, 7 min
One year after a horrific accident, a couple tries to find solace with close friends but beneath the surface, something far darker than grief awaits.
The Visitor | Dir. Nikolaus Aldrich | Short, USA, 11 min
With his relationship in a rough patch and his career stalled, a man tries to find new purpose by retreating to the Pacific Northwest. While there, strange things begin to happen as he grapples with his sense of reality.
XY | Dir. Stephan Fleet | Short, USA, 12 min
A repressed convenience store clerk named Y and a trans cam girl named X have their lives tragically intersect at a bleak strip mall in today’s America. A country where identity is regulated and guns are not.
Cat Sitters | Dir. Claren Grosz | Short, Canada, 11 min
Four friends reunite to watch scary movies while cat sitting, but an unexplained power outage and the nagging suspicion that they’re not alone threatens to kill the vibe. One thing’s for sure: they aren’t splitting up.
GHOSTED | Dir. Ben Hirshhorn | Short, USA, 6 min
A silent horror-comedy short film about a fake ghost falling in love with a real one. Think Casablanca, but spooky and gay.
Plant Moms | Dir. Kayla Lane Freeman | Short, USA, 8 min
Get to know your neighbors, they said! It’ll be fun, they said! This quirky, gross-out comedy will make you think twice about attending your next propagation party.
Fright Cardio: Fit Not Bit | Dir. Rachel Kerry | Short, USA, 6 min
A zombie themed exercise video descends into chaos when it is interrupted by real zombies.
Please Rate 5 Stars | Dir. Sam Gianfala | Short, USA, 9 min
Tobe is ready for a night of spooky debauchery when a mysterious driver picks him up on the way to a party. What starts as an eerie car ride quickly detours into the ultimate Halloween scare of Tobe's life. Will Tobe survive the night in one piece?
Lesbian Vampyres From Outter Space | Dir. Jules Robinson | Short, USA, 6 min
When a hungry vampires stumbles upon a bands performance, she must choose between her draw to the enchanting lead singer or her otherworldly desires.
Brian Won't Wear Condoms | Dir. Genna Edwards | Short, USA, 11 min
An alternative contraceptive procedure tests the relationship between a wellness influencer and her skeptical best friend.
Bug Guts | Dir. Adler Hyatt | Short, USA, 6 min
One evening, two roommates are plagued by the presence of a horrific insect in their New York City apartment. Their patience with each other is tested as they hunt the bug to ensure a safe nights sleep.
Black Hole Barry | Dir. Alejandro Alberola | Short, United Kingdom, 9 min
Facing his boyfriend’s move-in, Scott embarks on a self-destructive week of hookups—a decision he’s going to regret forever.
RAT! | Dir. Neal Suresh Mulani | Short, USA, 17 min
When a disgruntled music journalist accuses a global pop star of queerbaiting, the singer’s devoted fans descend on his remote cabin to seek retribution.
Bath Bomb | Dir. Colin G. Cooper | Short, Canada, 10 min
A possessive doctor prepares a romantic bath for his narcissistic boyfriend, but after an accusation of infidelity, things take a deeply disturbing turn.
Lone Buck Motel | Dir. Sarah Rae Franklin | Short, USA, 2 min
After receiving an ominous invitation, Kat arrives at a seemingly empty motel off the highway. She doesn't know who or what she will find in room 13: her demise, or her wildest dreams. Only one way to find out.
Prom Party Massacre | Dir. Jordan Gustafson | Short, USA, 19 min
In a genre-bending musical full of teenage rebels, poodle skirts, and betrayal, a young gay man tries to woo his crush with a swinging prom party. When popular kids start turning up dead, the partygoers discover a slasher killer amongst the student body!
Marcang (Blast) | Dir. Bese Komáromy | Short, Hungary, 18 min
Late at night, a young male model arrives at a photographer's apartment, and as soon as he invites him in, the cat-and-mouse game begins. The realistic, queer setting soon turns into a more allegorical fever dream, where words hurt on a physical level.
A GUEST | Dir. Sr. Soledad | Short, Mexico, 6 min
A married man... A night off... A guest...
Pas de Deux! | Dir. Nathan Koranda | Short, USA/United Kingdom, 4 min
The chaos of a flashback is transformed into a visceral performance as two bodies struggle for control in this grotesque dance for two.
TransVengeance | Dir. Kaye Adelaide | Short, Canda, 5 min
A trans woman dies on the operating table during facial feminization surgery, but death is no match for a determined transsexual.
Binary | Dir. David-Jan Bronsgeest | Short, Netherlands, 42 min
Nisha, a trans woman from Pakistan working as a dancer in the Netherlands, is conflicted about proceeding with gender-affirming surgery. Every time she embraces her identity, she is subjected to strange attacks and visions. Chaos ensues when her inner demons decide to take on the demons outside.
One Night Cherub | Dir. Austin King | Short, USA, 7 min
While Nick waits for his app hookup to show up, a demonic cherub tries to kill him.
A Seat at the Table | Dir. Lanese Love | Short, USA, 4 min
An unsuspecting prospect must overcome the gruesome tasks of an elite group in order to gain the treasures of their higher power.
Skin of Sadness | Dir. Hasan Ege Çalışkan |Short, Netherlands/Turkey, 20 min
A shocking act of violence becomes a unique bond between two lonely men, which leads them to discover the meaning of love in most unexpected ways.
Long Pork | Dir. Iris Dukatt | Short, USA, 13 min
In a Post-Roe America where theocracy reigns, a renowned butcher meets the political predator responsible for the killing of her daughter and exacts bloody revenge, setting the stage for a revolution.
The Voice of Fear | Dir. Henrique Arruda | Short, Brazil, 6 min
In how many worlds has your fear trapped you?
Dry January | Dir. C.J. Arellano | Short, USA, 19 min
When Maya commits to a month of sobriety and takes up sculpting as a hobby, her crab sculptures terrorize her former drinking buddy, her brother Toby.
Butterfly Kiss | Dir. Zohar Dvir | Short, Germany, 10 min
Carol panics and argues with her girlfriend Ray after an unexpected proposal. The situation gets worse when she wakes to discover that Ray has transformed into a butterfly. Rising tensions and a looming apocalypse threaten to dissolve their relationship.
𝖈𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖟𝖓 | Dir. Zachary Green | Short, Canada, 13 min
Patty, a modern witch, harbours a suffocating obsession for her former friend, Elaine. When she learns that Elaine's new girlfriend, Lauren, shares the same birthday as her, she casts a body-swapping spell that grants her the relationship of her dreams, at a steep cost.
Say Ten Hail Marys | Dir. Christine Elizabeth Dudley | Short, USA, 4 min
An experimental dance film exploring the darkness, confusion, and constraint the filmmaker endured growing up bisexual and Catholic in the American South.
Bottom Feeder | Dir. Will Carter | Short, USA, 5 min
Crackers, a rancid icthyophile, is stalked by an aquatic demon. A dream come true, or his worst nightmare?
In The Valley: A Cosmic Queer Abduction | Dir. Adam Van Dyke | Short, USA, 28 min
Lost in the vast Southern California desert, Josh wakes alone after a night with a mysterious Cowboy. As the landscape twists into a waking nightmare, he must uncover the truth about the Cowboy, cloaked figures watching him, and his own past—before the desert claims him forever.
Minister Chucky | Dir. Jonathan Andre Culliton, Graham Kolbeins | Short, USA/Canada, 11 min
As the specter of rising fascism looms, a queer couple celebrates their love with an unconventional Vegas wedding—officiated by Chucky, the killer doll—before making their escape to Canada. A wild, heartfelt journey, offering a uniquely trans and nonbinary perspective on love, resistance, and the absurdity of our times.
DEMON TWINK | Dir. Steven George | Short, USA, 25 min
Dante came out later in life and missed out on the experience of being young and queer. After a shady club bathroom encounter with a demon, Dante is granted the youth and beauty he craves, in exchange for killing his hookups every full moon, Dante is pretty good at being a killer, that is until he falls in love with one of his victims.
RICOCHET | Dir. Daviel Shy & Valerie Whitehawk | Short, 4 min
A honeymoon in the desert turns sour when two lovers’ acid-dipped raspberries bring them on a trip from which there is no return. Southeast Premiere
Filmmaker in person!
CHAPERONE | Dir. Sam Max | Short, 16 min
An unnamed figure picks up a young man in his car. As the two drive together, and settle into an austere rental house in the country, the details of their arrangement become guttingly clear.
IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS | Dir. Rachel Kempf, Nick Toti | Feature , 84 min
This found footage horror film blends fact and fiction from nearly 20 years of archival video. Following a decades-long fascination with the horror genre, a married couple buys an abandoned duplex to use as a location for filming their low-budget scary movie. They soon notice that random strangers are drawn to the old building, but never approach it, merely standing outside and staring at it in a sort of trance. Delighted to find themselves embroiled in a real-life scary story, the two team up with an old friend and put their years of horror expertise, amateur ghost hunting, and paranormal obsession to use in the hope of discovering why this building holds such a strange power over people. Southeast Premiere
Filmmakers in person!