The Listener

Inside

Scarred for life after a harrowing near-death experience, emotionally fragile mother-to-be Sarah is still struggling to come to terms with her loss. Overcome with silent grief, Sarah now seeks solace in work; however, she is on a collision course with sheer terror when a knock at the door in the dead of night chills her bones to the marrow. Now, the raven-haired, late-night visitor in black wants something precious from Sarah, and will stop at nothing to get it.

Smash Cuts! Super Sci-Fi Shorts Fest

Host Scott Forrest presents a curated compilation of eight independent short films in this rapid-fire science-fiction feature. Genres collide, narratives twist, aesthetics clash, and even humor, both campy and dystopian, showcase the vast creative possibilities of each story's individual world, offering the viewer a brief glimpse into the lives of every character's attempt to survive the otherworldly chaos around them. Released in 2001, the selected shorts span original creation dates of 1997 to 2001; most of the featured filmmakers also appear as themselves in short video interviews to talk about their inspirations, creative process and motivations while working on their individual shorts.

The Dog of Sarandi Alley

In this 57-second short film, a dog-like doll faces another doll. It begins with an innocent, playful tone, but quickly turns dark and unsettling. Bach’s classical music adds a heavy, melancholic mood to the scene. The Dog of Sarandi Alley is a strange and brief story about violence, loneliness, and the secrets hidden behind the simple faces of toys.

Billy Boy

A former football star turned real estate broker meets with rich, spoiled young Billy to close a deal on a mansion, and nothing goes according to plan.

Citric Acid

A young artist is stalked via the internet by a mysterious online celebrity who harshly criticizes their artwork.

Visceral

Visceral is an exploration of love and vulnerability found in new relationships. Meat and organs mix under the camera in a beautiful union to represent the intricacies of a relationship.

A Deadly Love

A new young couple struggles to keep their relationship afloat.

Fine

After a period of time where her hearing begins to overtake her sight, Casandra searches for the cause of her problem, isolating herself from society. She starts having visions that remind her of the past and promise an apocalyptic future.

Subsurface

Trapped and alone, a young man must confront the pain he's ignored when he finds himself face-to-face with consequence.

Peeping Tom

Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.

Dressed to Kill

After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.

Shutter

A newly married couple discovers disturbing, ghostly images in photographs they develop after a tragic accident. Fearing the manifestations may be connected, they investigate and learn that some mysteries are better left unsolved.

Embrace of the Vampire

An 18-year-old college freshman is seduced by a handsome vampire lover who introduces her to a dark world of carnal desires.

The Killer

Our protagonist wakes up, lost and confused in the middle of a place he doesn’t know, looking for answers he doesn’t get. Stop motion adaptation of the Stephen King short story "The Killer"

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F*cked Up

The conversation between a computer and a young girl welcomes horrifically digital transformations. As the machine introduces Go Girls Games to the screen, our protagonist starts playing obsessively. Trapped in this digital space, the girl assimilates into the game. The repetitive opportunity to level up alters her physical appearance: the more she plays the prettier she becomes. Unable to stop playing, she reaches unrealistic beauty standards. Scared, modified, and digitally corrupted our player finally embodies the capital on women’s insecurities.

Ortolan

On the night of their mother’s wake, three estranged sisters divide their childhood home over a pot of magic mushroom tea while a family secret boils to the surface. A story about the tenuousness of memory, buried trauma, food... and psychedelics.

The Paralysis

After waking up with amnesia on the beach, the protagonist is pursued by the police to face the consequences of an unknown past. This soundscape uses tension as a tool to explore how uncertainty, anguish and urgency mobilize a body that would otherwise remain paralyzed in time.

Malevolence

After committing an unspeakable act, a man confesses—but only part of him means it. His darker self, defiant and unrepentant, refuses to kneel—even before God. As he seeks peace in isolation, convinced forgiveness is beyond him, reality begins to fracture. Haunted by guilt and consumed by a force he can’t control, his mind spirals into a terrifying maze of illusions, possession, and truth. where the power he tried to suppress awakens something darker, and not everything that begs for forgiveness seeks salvation.