We all have experienced the major changes the COVID-19 pandemic has caused. Everything from daily life to events we looked forward to has drastically changed.

Etheria Film Night would normally have played its short films in Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre, but this year they had to come up with a new plan. Lucky for all of us who don’t live in the LA area, Etheria Film Night 2020 instead is showing nine short films made by women exclusively on Shudder. The horror-focused streaming service has made quite a name for itself with the amazing Shudder exclusive films and even Shudder original shows. It is the perfect place for Etheria to showcase these short films.

Etheria’s co-founder and director of programming, Heidi Honeycutt, kicks things off with a lovely intro. She addresses how they are doing things differently this year due to the pandemic. Honeycutt also gives everyone a nice reminder to wear your mask! From there the block dives into the nine short films, all of them unique and fun in their own way.

WAFFLE

Directed by Carlyn Hudson and written by Kerry Barker and Katie Marovitch, who also star in the film, Waffle follows two women having a sleepover. What seems normal quickly becomes strange when the audience learns the women having the sleepover are a bizarre orphaned heiress (Marovitch) and a “best friend” (Barker) she is renting. What I love about this one is how awkward and uncomfortable it gets as the heiress becomes increasingly unhinged. It is hilarious, weird, and even offers a social commentary on how we live in an isolated society of artificial relationships. OVERALL RATING: 4/5

MAGGIE MAY (Jury Award Winner)

Writer and director Mia Kate Russell delivers a truly disturbing tale with her short film, Maggie May. After the death of her mother, a woman takes her infant twins to stay with her sister, but her sister takes doing nothing to a shocking extreme. This short film has some great moments that will make you gasp, as well as stunning practical effects. It also has a truly brilliant and haunting performance by Lulu McClatchy as the titular character, Maggie May. Of all the short films in this block, Maggie May is sure to disturb audiences and stick with them long after. OVERALL RATING: 5/5

BASIC WITCH

I immediately loved this short because it began with a disclaimer about consent and hexing the patriarchy. Basic Witch is directed by Yoko Okumura and written by Lauren Kurek Sweeney Cannon. The short film follows a young women the night after an unfortunate sexual encounter with her date. Feeling conflicted about the night’s events, she hexes a pumpkin spice latte for her date to drink so he can feel everything she felt, both physically and emotionally. Olivia Castanho perfectly plays Lily, the young witch, and Chris O’Brien does a great job as her date, Brian. This short film really excels at conveying the mixed emotions women go through when they are forced to do something sexual they didn’t want to do, but they don’t necessarily feel was rape. It even touches on the ethics of Lily forcing these same things onto Brian. The message of Basic Witch is important, well done, and something everyone should watch. OVERALL RATING: 5/5

CONVERSION THERAPIST

In this short film, written and directed by Bear Rebecca Fonté, a pansexual, polyamorous trio kidnap a religious anti-LGBTQ+ fundamentalist and conversion therapist to torture him. The short includes some great performances, especially from Sara Fletcher, Evelyn Jake, and Jordan Morgan as the kidnapping trio. Conversion Therapist, in a way, has the same cathartic viewing experience as a rape-revenge film. This is a short about the LBGTQ+ community getting back at those who have wronged us, and it’s quite satisfying to watch. The one drawback to the short is the frequent use of the word “f*ggot” by the lead kidnapper. I understand the reason for using it in the context, but it is still jarring to hear and used a bit too much. OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5

OFFBEAT

Set in a future with horribly polluted air, director Myrte Ouwerkerk and writer Chiara Aerts tell the story of a young drummer named Olly trying to earn his way into the clean air dome, where only the best of the best get to live. This film comes all the way from the Netherlands and is very well done. The story stands out because it shows, almost immediately, how the testing to get into the dome is incredibly biased and clearly is made so certain demographics can’t get in, including artists and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Christopher van der Meer is completely lovable as Olly and does a great job of taking us through this strange new world. Offbeat is fun and has great production value and effects, but more importantly it shows the inherent bias in testing that exists even today. OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5

THE FINAL GIRL RETURNS (Audience Award Winner)

This short film by Alexandria Perez takes on a strange journey with a young man seemingly stuck in a loop where he encounters final girl after final girl. This short captures the look and feel of classic 80’s slashers, including a fantastic 80’s inspired musical score, but from there it brings something new to the subgenre of horror. One of my favorite aspects of the short is that we see many final girls of all shapes, sizes, and colors, which is not very common in the slasher subgenre. The plot leaves a lot of the “why” to the unknown, but it does a great job of showing how we have to take our destiny into our own hands. It’s a slick update to a tired concept with a huge cast that absolutely nails it. OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5

LIVE

Taryn O’Neill writes, directs, and stars in this short film about a livecaster whose online persona is getting to be too much for her. There are two main aspects of modern social media and technology at play in this short. First, the personas we play online and how they differ from who we are in reality. Second, the increasing dilemma of how much a person should be willing to share with the world in order to make a buck. Perhaps it’s not quite nuanced enough at times, but still a compelling story that makes the audience think. It’s an interesting concept shown with futuristic technology to convey ideas that are very relevant in today’s social-media hungry society. OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5

MAN IN THE CORNER

Written and directed by Kelli Breslin and co-written by Daniel Ross Noble, Man in the Corner follows a young guy hooking up with what appears to be a perfect guy, but things go downhill when he realizes they’re not alone. Part of what makes it so unsettling is the performance by Matt Pascua as Daniel. The audience experiences the encounter through his POV. It makes many of the unanswered questions and the strange events work because we only know as much as Daniel knows. There is some striking imagery and a few specific moments that will likely be seared into the viewers’ brains. This is an eerie, unsettling short film that is beautifully shot and makes great use of lighting and color. OVERALL RATING: 4/5

AVA IN THE END

After an unfortunate accident leads to a young woman’s death, her consciousness is uploaded to the cloud until her new body arrives, leaving her to wait with an AI. Written by Addison Heimann and directed by Ursula Ellis, Ava in the End tackles some very deep ideas. In a future where your consciousness can just go to another body when you die, it is easy to take your life for granted. This short uses this futuristic setting and technology in order to show the consequences of that and encourage individuals to use the time they have to seek out their dreams. The filmmakers wisely use a single set for the physical representation of the cloud and Elsa Gay is fantastic as the recently deceased Ava. It’s a strong short film to end on, hopefully inspiring viewers to go out and try to achieve their goals. OVERALL RATING: 4/5