Official Selection
The Peeper
Director: Sergiy Pudich
Strange things happened in the pole dance gym after the trainer caught a peeper behind the door...
2023 Official Selections
Official Selections
Explore the official selections for The Dark Fest 2023 season.
47Official Selections
9Feature Films
31Short Films
6Scripts
9Countries
2023 Season
Official Selections
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Category
Best Short Film
28 projects
Official Selection
Present
Director: Gavin T Briggs
A couple's romantic Christmas getaway that goes horribly wrong when it's time for presents.
Official Selection
The last of us : All Gone
Director: Alexandre Delol
Nathan and his little brother Sam try to survive in a world where both the infected and other humans become formidable adversaries...
Retrospect
Director: Mattea Marie Conforti
This film examines the vulnerability of deviant human conduct, leaving the viewer rooting for perverse behavior.
Official Selection
Static
Director: Jamin Mears
In a hopeless dystopian future, a determined young girl embarks on a mission to finish her murdered father's life work—a time travel device—in a desperate attempt to travel back and rescue him.
Official Selection
The Spirit Hunters
Director: Mikko Löppönen
Interpol agent from Japan visits Finland to catch a small time criminal but all hell breaks loose as a sword wielding demon from the spirit world tries to open portal to another world. Now she has to team up with the criminal to save the world. The short explores themes of redemption and the power of friendship. And the power of kicking ass!
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Official Selection
The Tunnel: Interview With A Monster
Director: David Llauger Meiselman
Dr. Larry Levin, a convicted serial killer is brought to a black ops rendition site where he is to be "interviewed" by two government agents for his past crimes only to realize that some chupacabras have come to join them.
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Official Selection
Everything is Fine
Director: Piotr Matyja
After waking up in the forest with no recollection, a young man seeks to find out what happened only to discover an uncomfortable truth about himself.
Official Selection
Maryla
Director: Guillaume Heulard
During a trip to Poland, two young American influencers are sent by their employer to photograph an old uninhabited mansion resembling a haunted house deep in the forest. Inside the mansion, the two young girls are confronted by some very strange phenomena...
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Official Selection
Photalgia
Director: Michael McCallum
An older artist is affected by a strange light at his studio that drives him to do dark things.
Official Selection
Jingle Hell
Director: Sean Cruser
A pregnant woman and her husband spend Christmas Eve in a secluded cabin with the hope of reconnecting with her estranged sister. But when a masked snowman begins terrorizing them, the family must fight tooth and nail to make it to morning. Not everything is as it seems in this holiday horror short. Jingle Hell stars Poonam Basu (Parks and Recreation, Genshin Impact), Shalini Bathina (How I Met Your Father, Long Slow Exhale), Murphy Martin (The Book of Boba Fett, Pam and Tommy), and the legendary Keith Szarabajka (The Dark Knight, Transformers, Argo) as the mysterious Randall.
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Official Selection
VISITING
Director: Piero Cannata
A villa on the hills, murky desires, the past that doesn't die. The visit begins.
Official Selection
You’re It
Directors: Herb Cremer, Joe Cremer
A group of children decide to play a game of hide and seek to alleviate their boredom but nothing could prepare them for the outcome of this twisted game.
Official Selection
Goin’ Up
Director: Alec Douglas
Set in the near future, a young man joins a team of criminals to rob a bank so he can reunite with the love of his life on a wealthy colonized station on the moon.
Official Selection
Consumed
Director: JP Bradham
Tammy discovers one night that her shopping addiction might become the death of her.
Official Selection
The Light Switch
Director: Radomir Jordanovic
In this experimental hybrid of comedy and thriller, three friends find themselves stumbling around in the dark, searching for a light switch. As they fumble and bumble through their surroundings, tensions rise and unexpected twists unfold, creating a gripping and hilarious tale of suspense.
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Official Selection
Presence
Director: Vincent Tang
A terminally ill father struggling with leaving his daughter puts his family in danger when he is tricked by a mirror image of himself that offers the false promise of a cure.
Official Selection
Shadow Puppets
Director: Penn Pauletich
A prisoner finds a new and dangerous way to spark joy in his otherwise mundane life.
Official Selection
The Crimson Case
Directors: Brent Ramos, Vivian Hong
In a dark and gritty adaptation of San Francisco, a man is murdered in an alleyway by a mysterious menacing killer who wears red leather gloves. Detectives, Tony Albarado and Jean Smith, are assigned by Chief Lewis to look further into this mysterious murder and gather evidence, attempting to solve the case, “The Crimson Case.”
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Official Selection
Killer in a Small Town
Director: Clinton Cornwell
True crime super-fan, Will Wesley, has seen it all, but tonight a face in the dark may outsmart him.
Official Selection
Hidden Above 2: The Mystery Unfolds
Director: Parker Viale
After being accused of murdering her boyfriend, Vanessa must try to prove her innocence while a mysterious entity has other plans.
Official Selection
The Dark Odyssey 2 – Ice Nexus
Director: Michael Lavine
A skeptical astronaut discovers a lost spaceship and gets tangled up in a dangerous journey to a mythical space-time portal, the Ice Nexus, in search of the Inventory of the Mind, essential knowledge for ending the Eternal War.
Official Selection
Brother’s Keeper
Director: Dan Sellers
A man and woman are subjected to a decidedly unpleasant social experiment.
Official Selection
CLOSET SPACE
Directors: Glenn Lissner, Al Julian
A flesh-eating demon forces tough choices on two old friends.
Official Selection
The Torture Within
Director: Sean Martinez
When a young man’s diminishing existence leads him to violence against his small town, his life is examined as to what compelled him to commit such a heinous act. All too often we see the monsters who commit such hideous acts, but never want to examine how the monsters might have been created, or worse, how our own actions, or inactions, might have had some contribution in the creation of those monsters.
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Official Selection
The Ill-Fated
Director: Daniel Rodriguez
A tragic event in a young girl's past, sets in motion the wheels of her inevitable fate / Un événement tragique dans la vie d'une jeune femme, la dirigeant vers son destin inévitable
Official Selection
The Trapper: Dead by Daylight
Director: Jared Cline
A group of strangers find themselves struggling to survive in a deadly game orchestrated by an unknown force. The group must work together to find a way to escape, all while being hunted by a deadly killer named "The Trapper", who seeks to eliminate them one by one. With time running out, the survivors must use their wits and teamwork to outsmart the Trapper and escape the deadly trial before it's too late. Along the way, they'll discover things aren't as simple as they appear in this twisted game they're forced to play. Will they be able to survive, or will they learn the truth about this place?
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Official Selection
Bad Drones
Director: Sam Coale
A young man is unintentionally set on an adventure to save mankind when he falls through a wormhole to another world only to discover an army of evil drones on the other side poised to invade Earth.
Category
Best Feature Film
9 projects
Official Selection
Puppet Killer
Director: Lisa Ovies
While celebrating Christmas at a cabin in the woods, a group of high school students are stalked by a psychotic killer obsessed with horror movie icons.
Official Selection
SMILE AS YOU KILL
Director: Michael Sarrow
With only a few months to live, a desperate man kidnaps a successful advertising director and makes one demand: Create an online campaign to pay for treatment… or share his fate.
Official Selection
AGATHA
Directors: rolandbecerra, Kelly Bigelow Becerra
The film follows “The Professor”, a man suffering from a terminal disease, who by a twist of fate, witnesses an incredible event involving his mysterious neighbor Agatha. Hoping to find a cure to his sickness - he agrees to follow her on a strange and risky journey into a forgotten but not entirely deserted urban wasteland. AGATHA is designed to evoke an unsettling mood and to leave many unanswered questions about the events taking place within the story. The passing of time and the disintegration of nature, institutions, and people all set the tone for a story.
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Official Selection
Darkest of Lies
Director: Kelly Schwarze
Struggling with the lingering scars of war, an army veteran is plagued by dark visions of the future when he and his wife move into their new home.
Official Selection
RAVAGE NATION
Director: Michael Moutsatsos
In 2036 CV5 virus is born. Mother's give birth to hybrids mutations. A mere bit or scratch can turn you into zombies. This is a rollercoaster ride of horror gore. Dean Taylor has 7 different personalities, and is played brilliantly by Jake Scozzaro.
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Official Selection
FRAME
Directors: JP Charlebois, MYRAI
Charles is a renowned photographer who has worked with the best, made his mark and who now works in his own photography studio that doubles as his apartment. All seems well, but something is missing. A craving he can’t satiate nor comprehend, which will inevitably take a toll on his morals, work ethics and sanity, without sparing those who have the misfortune of crossing his path.
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Official Selection
Dead Cameraman
Directors: Jack Aversano, Jack Aversano
A void in a man's memory opens up when he discovers a video reciting a myth his mother once read to him just before she disappeared. As it turns out the young woman who posted that video has disappeared as well.
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Official Selection
Adam Jack’s The Lurker
Director: Adam Jack
“Instagram Influencers, Colin and Fiona, seem like the perfect couple to their loyal followers, but their relationship is put to the test when a crazed serial killer breaks into their home. Chained to their bed, the couple is forced into a sadistic game of relationship trivia in which honesty is their only way to survive.”
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Official Selection
The Darkening Hour
Director: Tony Severe
A young couple trying to repair their marriage vacations in a secluded cabin to celebrate the new year after the wife's recent release from a mental hospital. When the husband begins seeing inexplicable changes in his wife's behavior he fears it's signs of a relapse. Overshadowing the events is the town's dark legend.
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Best Short Film Screenplay
3 projects
Official Selection
The Avon Lady
Writer: Guillermo Ortiz, Geena Karsama
Two women on the fringes of 1950's American society collide in an inconspicuous Avon home visit where everything but the purchasing of lipstick occurs.
Official Selection
Reflection
Writer: Lisa Ovies
A woman goes to the mountains for the weekend in an attempt to reconnect with her past and finally lay her demons to rest.
Official Selection
DUST
Writer: Kareline Castor
When a Dust Bowl refugee seeks shelter in an isolated homestead, the massive dust storms become the least of his worries after the eccentric homeowner is not what he seems.
Category
Best of Category
6 projects
Official Selection
#1
Director: Dante Lundin
A broke comic shop owner and an obsessive collector fight over a rare issue one comic book.
Official Selection
The Turn
Director: Jack H. Wood
History stops repeating itself when a young woman finds a more permanent solution to breaking free of her toxic relationships.
Official Selection
Ice Factory
Writer: Michael Dixon
In a disenfranchised town, a drifting school boy stumbles upon his late father's music, sending him on a journey of self-discovery. With the belief that the future remains unwritten, he sets out to prove to himself and his community that there is hope to be found in the melodies of the past.
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Official Selection
Hopeless
Director: Mark Gabriel Galliano
Trapped in a web of dark desires, a young man's relationship with a seemingly innocent couple spirals into a nightmarish struggle for survival, as he becomes entangled in twisted games of control and obsession.
Official Selection
THE LAST RIDE OF THE BLOOD BROTHERS
Writer: Johnny Galvan
After being recruited by one of the Devil’s sons, a ragged and troubled leader of a motorcycle club struggles to keep his friends alive and win an epic battle against a rival club for the survival of the human race.
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Official Selection
Kind
Writer: Ammon Williams
Step into the hauntingly immersive world of "Kind," where horror meets heart in a tantalizing blend of supernatural mystery and personal growth. When a tormented man named Ace stumbles upon a cursed coin while hoping to bring the spark back into his life, he unwittingly unleashes a malevolent force that forces him to confront his darkest secrets. As Ace battles vengeful spirits and confronts his past regrets, he discovers the true power of kindness and the terrifying consequences of his choices. With a fresh directorial perspective and a story that navigates the thin line between horror and humanity, "Kind" offers an unforgettable cinematic experience that will leave audiences questioning the kindness they give to the world.
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Official Selections
1 project