4 Horror Short Films to Watch This Spooky Season

This spooky season, Indie-Clips' horror catalogue offers plenty of opportunities to discover independent filmmakers doing exactly that. From artificial intelligence and augmented reality to liminal spaces, desert monsters and childhood fears, here are four horror shorts worth adding to your watchlist.

1. Insentient — When Technology Starts Watching Back

What happens when the technology designed to make our reality more interesting becomes something we can no longer control?

Written, produced and directed by Vince Remo, Insentient follows Jerry, who downloads an app that allows him to augment a realistic human being into his surroundings through his phone. What initially sounds like a futuristic novelty soon takes a much darker turn when augmented reality and artificial intelligence begin producing consequences Jerry didn't anticipate.

The premise taps into one of modern horror's most effective fears: the idea that the devices we rely on every day might be capable of something we don't fully understand. By combining AI, augmented reality and horror, Insentient gives a familiar piece of technology an unsettling new dimension.

The film was released in 2025 and has already picked up recognition on the festival circuit, including a Best Horror win at the Los Angeles Film Awards.

Best for: Fans of technological horror, AI nightmares and modern sci-fi with a sinister edge.

2. LIMINAL — Lost Somewhere Between Worlds

Few horror concepts have become as unsettling in recent years as the idea of the liminal — spaces and situations that feel strangely familiar while also feeling completely wrong.

Ryan Avery's 2024 short LIMINAL takes that concept into psychological horror. The film follows a man searching for solace in an otherworldly realm after losing everything, exploring isolation and the human desire to escape. Indie-Clips also tags the film with "backrooms," "analog," "thriller," "abstract" and "arthouse," giving a good indication of its unusual horror territory.

Rather than relying solely on a conventional monster, LIMINAL plays with atmosphere and the fear of being somewhere you shouldn't be. Its premise makes the film particularly appealing for viewers who enjoy horror that is strange, dreamlike and open to interpretation.

It's the kind of short that can leave you thinking about what you just watched long after the credits.

Best for: Fans of liminal spaces, the Backrooms aesthetic, psychological horror and atmospheric storytelling.

3. The Monster of the Desert — Something Is Waiting Outside

Sometimes the simplest horror premise is the most effective: you're alone, it's Halloween night, and there is something outside.

Adam Van Dyke's The Monster of the Desert follows a devastated woman who, on Halloween night, is planning to end her life. Her plans are repeatedly interrupted by strange commotion outside. Eventually, she decides to confront whatever is causing it — and walks straight into her worst nightmare.

The Halloween setting immediately gives the short a suitably eerie atmosphere, while the isolated desert location provides the perfect backdrop for a monster story. There's nowhere to hide and, when something starts making noise outside, curiosity can become a dangerous thing.

What makes the premise particularly intriguing is the contrast between the protagonist's personal despair and the external threat she encounters. The horror isn't simply about a creature lurking in the darkness; it's about a character already pushed to an extreme when something even more frightening enters her world.

Best for: Fans of creature features, isolated settings and classic "what's out there?" horror.

4. Don't Peek — Whatever You Do, Don't Look

We've all been there: lying awake at night, staring into the darkness and convincing ourselves that we heard something.

Alberto Ornelas' Don't Peek takes that childhood fear and turns it into a supernatural horror story. The film centres on a young protagonist who refuses to go to sleep when his mother tells him to. But the darkness of the house contains more than ordinary nighttime noises. According to the film's synopsis, there are things that become active at night specifically because they don't want to be seen by humans.

It's an instantly relatable setup. The creaking house, moving shadows and unexplained sounds are all classic ingredients of childhood nightmares — but Don't Peek pushes the idea further by suggesting that perhaps those fears weren't entirely imaginary after all.

The short was directed and edited by Alberto Ornelas and stars Lyric Ornelas, Tosha Ornelas and Brooklyn Lopez. The film was also successful enough to help inspire plans for a feature-length Don't Peek.

Best for: Fans of supernatural horror, childhood nightmares and the simple terror of what might be hiding in the dark.

Make It a Horror Short-Film Night

These four shorts offer four very different flavours of horror. Insentient brings the fear into the technological present, LIMINAL heads into an unsettling otherworldly space, The Monster of the Desert embraces creature-feature terror, and Don't Peek returns to one of horror's oldest fears: the darkness inside your own home.

And that's the beauty of a good horror short. You don't need to sacrifice an entire evening to get a proper scare. Turn off the lights, put your phone away — unless you're watching Insentient — and let these four independent films set the mood for spooky season.

All four are featured in Indie-Clips' horror short-film catalogue.

Ready to watch? Head over to Indie-Clips' Horror Short Films catalogue and start your spooky-season watchlist.