Short Film Showcase: Serial Killers On The Rise

This year’s Thriller Picture Show, hosted by the Pittsburgh Moving Picture Festival at the Lindsay Theater, showcased an impressive collection of horror shorts, thrillers, and several cult classic features. In celebrating the incredible showcase of short films, I wanted to highlight some of my favorites featuring, you guessed it, serial killers. Yes, in both mainstream and indie circles, true crime-inspired thrillers are on the rise, and directors at this year’s film festival did not disappoint.

Nightwalker

Drawn in by Gwen’s (Alva Joelle) rocking haircut and to-die-for earrings in combination with the familiar scenes our antagonist (Chad Bruns) drives by throughout Harmony, Pennsylvania, I was hooked in just the first few moments of this 80s-nostalgic short film. 

Directed by Adam Morgan (Instagram: @ar.morgan) and clocking in at just under 17 minutes, the film did a great job featuring the little details that quickly hone in on what we relish about 80s nostalgia: a box TV, tube socks, a letterman jacket, and so much more. Accomplishing a sort of balancing act that comes with the sub-genre, Morgan transports the viewer back when walking home alone was considered to be safe, while reminding us how wrong we were and how danger could be cruising around any corner. In addition to dropping all these subtle details and building suspense at a nearly perfect pace, when the mysterious driver finally masks himself and begins physically chasing Gwen down the street and through graveyards, viewers are on the edge of their seats. Will she be spared? Or is this the latest victim on his list? You’ll have to watch to find out.

Fans of Morgan’s work will be happy to know that he’s recently released a new project, which is a continuation of Nightwalker, called The New Blood. It follows a woman on her first day on the job at a small town mall, which is complicated when the bad guy from Nightwalker follows her there and seems to have a connection to her past. You can also subscribe to Morgan’s YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/@MidnightonSaturdayProductions

Family Tradition

In a time where social media or taking a simple DNA test can connect you with family members you never knew you had, Erik Thompson shows us in Family Tradition why you shouldn’t always be eager to make the connection. In this psychological horror short, viewers enter the scene where two siblings, Rob played by Erik Smith, and Maggie played by Jess Uhler, have recently connected with a distant relative. Though skeptical, Maggie agrees to drive out with Rob to have dinner with the couple and get to know this side of the family better.

Once the two arrive, Dave (James Micheal Shoberg) is overly welcoming, bringing them into his home and giving him the grand tour, while his odd and quiet wife Gretchen (Christine Mancini) works on finishing dinner. Surrounded by taxidermy and entertained by hunting stories, things start to feel weird. After Maggie suggests that the two get going despite dinner having just started, it becomes obvious that the two aren’t going anywhere, as Rob’s car is mysteriously unable to start. As the night presses on, the siblings realize that perhaps the couple aren’t relatives after all and that animals might not be the only mammals they hunt.

Fans of Thompson’s work can subscribe to his YouTube channel, here: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Pictures-eq4dw 

Twin Minder

One of my favorites from the festival, director Frank Raybuck’s (Instagram: @frankraybuck) The Twin Minder follows single mom Leah (Jenna Parise) as she and her daughter go out to the park for a swim. After realizing that they had forgotten their inner tube, a kind stranger who later introduces himself as Ray (Billy Joseph Jr.) lends them his own upon overhearing their conversation. What starts out as a normal encounter takes a strange turn when we see Ray home alone, though.

Soon, we learn that Ray has a troubled brother—or so we are led to believe. However, as time passes and we learn more about our mystery character(s), I’m mentally drawn back to memories of Secret Window (2004), in that similarly, the viewer must come to terms that Ray’s brother may have been fictional all along and that Ray himself is living a double life that even his “good” side is unaware of. I love these types of films that make you feel just as vulnerable as their characters. It immerses us in that we know just as much as they do and must stick it out until the end before the truth is revealed.

If you were also a fan of The Twin Minder, Raybuck is working on a new TV series, Cowboys and Cocaine. In an email to WSB, Raybuck confirmed that production is currently delayed as his team is still working to gain funding.

Watch other shorts created by Ray’s production company, here: https://www.youtube.com/@raybuckproductions

A Friendly Referral

A unique twist to the serial killer genre, director Edward Mizner (Instagram: @​​edwardmizner) really brought the creativity. Starting off, things seem fairly normal: A thriving babysitter would like to refer her friend to a couple’s child she describes as being the easiest kid to watch, ever. Because you’re never allowed to see them, all that’s left to do is sit around, watch TV, and binge on junk food. A little odd to not even be permitted to check on the child, I genuinely believed that the hard-working couple might be hiding some kind of monster or medical experiment.

While viewers will see that wasn’t the case, I certainly don’t want to spoil the plot twist by telling you what really happens—knowing that a serial killer is involved, or serial killers, should be hint enough!

Trēt

I’ve saved what I believe to be the best for last. In a Halloween-inspired thriller, we see Christine Mancini again, this time more sinister than ever. Taking place on Halloween night, we watch as a father (Vincent Bombara) invites his kid to take all of the candy from an unwatched and seemingly harmless bowl of candy, not suspecting that he will be forced to pay for his inconsiderate actions.

Somehow pulled away from his daughter and those trick or treating, he wakes up in the basement of the home he stole the candy from. Now, he must play a new game of “trik or tret” as spelled out on the tattooed knuckles of the woman who’s captured him. With no choice but to play along to survive, he chooses trick or treat, not knowing whether his choices will be merciful or if he’ll be met with pain—or worse.

Check out the full short to see what fate awaits this ignorant character. It just might be enough to make you think twice when no one is looking and you have a choice of your own to make.

If you would like to see what else director Matthew Diulus is up to, follow him on Instagram: @shadowframeproductions.

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Article written by Destiny King

Destiny is a supporting member of the Horror Writers Association who’s been working in B2B publishing for nearly a decade. Her favorite horror subgenres are true crime, found footage, and psychological thrillers. Find her on Letterboxd.