The Akron Independent Horror Short Film Festival is back for another year, bringing big, but shorter scares, to the silver screen.
"Careful Eyes" is one of the films picked to be part of the year's festival. The trailer flashes through several scenes: a creepy looking video tape, TV static. The film follows two friends who find a mysterious tape and begin to wonder whether what they’re seeing might actually be real.
"You know, I was thinking," a disembodied voice says, garbled slightly by the noises of the trailer. "People normally watch our stuff just to see somebody get cannibalized or just torn apart."
This film directed by Sean Norris is one of 16 official selections this year.
The celebration of short horror films, meaning anything under 40 minutes, is produced by Killer Video, which bills itself as Akron's horror museum.
Jonathon Carmichael is the owner of the museum, which he founded after returning to Ohio following two decades working in the film industry in Los Angeles.
"The museum is the heart and soul of the operation and the mission, this is our homebase, this is the main thing," Carmichael said. "The events that we do are what we call the lifeblood.”
And Carmichael, who took over running the festival last year, decided there was enough Ohio-tied indie filmmaking happening to keep it going on a yearly basis.
He said there were 48 submissions this year. The selected films cover pretty much all subgenres.
“We have one that’s an experimental animation that’s really interesting and we do have one that was... I think she was 15 when she wrote it," Carmichael said. "That’s really exciting to have someone so young submit.”
He’s referring to Ana Bass, who wrote the short film "MAD."
Bass, who’s studying at a New York City acting conservatory, actually wrote the script several years ago for a screenwriting competition in high school.
“I actually discovered it earlier last year again and kind of revised it and was like this would be really cool to film," she said.
So, she went to her parents and pitched the idea. They both went on to produce it and booked an Airbnb for a weekend.
They put out a call for help and ended up with a cast and crew of entirely Ohio-based talent.
“It was a great group of people," Bass said. "Everyone was so cooperative and engaged, I guess, in the project and helping it come to life. And I’m just glad that people get to see the movie now.”
One of the submission requirements for the festival is that every film must have an Ohio connection, either filmed in the state or with key cast and crew from here.
Two of the films were produced by Periscope Films, a production company based in Cleveland.
"The Serpent" was written and directed by Andrew Oliver.
"I had been into camping recently and there are certain aspects of it, you know, being out in the woods and it’s a little scary sometimes, especially if you’re out there on your own," he said. "So, I said okay how can I bring out this feeling onto the screen? And make something short, concise, fun, scary and it all just sort of came together that way.”
The short was filmed over the course of two days at Sugar Pines Farm in Chesterland.
Periscope also had a film in last year’s festival and Oliver said they wanted to come back with an expanded skillset this year.
So, they submitted two entries, the second of which is "Careful Eyes." Oliver provided some camera work and editing for the film.
“It was a ton of fun to make that one," he said. "It’s very creative, it’s very scary. Definitely one of the more effective things I’ve worked on, in terms of giving people good scares. We’ve tested it with a couple of audiences, and they just love it every single time.”
Like Carmichael, Justin Kohlas also recently returned to Ohio after working in L.A. He wrote the film "HIDE," which sports a team made up of industry professionals, including emmy-award winning special effects makeup artist Chris Burgoyne, whose recent credits include "The Pitt," "Star Trek: Discovery" and "NCIS: Los Angeles."
Kohlas was writing for a show that got canceled when the writer's strikes began last year and then he was picketing in front of Paramount for the duration of the strikes. That's when he and the rest of the crew decided to make "HIDE."
“We were just like, well, we have so much time on our hands, none of us are working," Kohlas said. "We should just use this time to finally make something we wanted to make."
While Kohlas is from Ohio originally, the film was shot in L.A. And it includes something in its credits you might not see in any of the other films — resources to donate to those affected by the 2025 L.A. wildfires.
“In Altadena, the town that we were filming, is one of the places that was hit the hardest," Kohlas said. "And, actually, the house that we filmed in, that whole neighborhood was right at kind of the base where the first fire started there. And multiple homes in that neighborhood were burnt to the ground and somehow the house that we filmed in went nearly unscathed.”
Without that house, which was an actor's parent's house, Kohlas said they wouldn't have been able to make the film.
Festival organizer Jonathon Carmichael encourages anyone with a love for horror or an interest in local film to come down.
Who knows, you might find your next favorite short.
“There’s gonna be one or two that they’re really gonna like," he said. "There’s gonna be some that are gonna make ‘em laugh, there’s gonna be some that are gonna make ‘em question things. But that’s what they should expect is just an overall good evening.”
Saturday’s festival at the Akron Civic Theatre also includes an awards ceremony, followed by a karaoke afterparty. This year, Carmichael said they increased the amount of awards given out from four to six, adding two new categories — Best Actor and Best Kill.
Doors open at 4 p.m. for a filmmaker meet and greet with some local vendors. Films begin screening at 6 p.m. Tickets are available online or at the door.
