The third day of this year’s Portland Horror Film Festival split the short films into two sections. The first was Short Films Block 2. While there were only four short films in this block, they are certainly memorable ones. For the most part, these short horror films all have some kind of religious theme or messaging. Ranging from disturbing to hilarious, there’s a surprising amount of variety in such a small block.

CONFESSION – Written and Directed by Mai Nakanishi

This Japanese short horror film shows a mysterious woman giving her confession to a priest. Watching the story unfold, it becomes almost immediately clear the audience is watching the confession of a budding serial killer. It delivers an understated suspense, building throughout the short film until the final moments. It all leads to a revelation that is so disturbing, without the need for any gore or supernatural elements. If anything, this story feels a little too real, making it even more horrifying to watch. The two leads do a fantastic job, especially considering they are just sitting and talking the entire time, yet they still bring the tension. Confession also has great sound design and some interesting visual choices to separate the present from the past. This is the kind of short horror film sure to get under the skin and never let go. Overall Rating: 4/5

GLORY HOLE – Written and Directed by Andoni Fernandez

A young man spending the night out clubbing stumbles upon a glory hole in a bar bathroom. A voice on the other side of the wall convinces him to try the glory hole, but it ends up having life-altering consequences that could impact the fate of the world. This is a short film from Spain and boy is it a memorable one. The main character, played by Lander Otaola (The Collector), is really the only one on screen throughout the runtime. He’s hilarious and does a nice job of carrying the plot. Because the short is mostly one person inside a bar bathroom, the filmmaker made sure to have great sound design in order to hear the other side of the wall. Not to mention, there is some very clever camera work and visual elements that make the short eye-catching and help add to the plot. It all leads to an ending that is hilarious, gross, and somewhat ambiguous. Overall Rating: 4/5

FAMOUS – Written by Jordan Monaghan, Directed by Rosita Lama Muvdi

A wannabe influencer decides to use her father’s recent suicide to help boost her following, often with unexpected results. Influencer horror has been on the rise over the last decade or so, but few are quite as demented as this short film. The main character is an exaggerated caricature of what an influencer is, but it helps to highlight how ridiculous they can be as they do “outfit of the day” videos to go to the funeral home, along with even more extreme examples than that. Monaghan, who wrote the short, also stars in it as the influencer. She gives a delightfully demented performance that will have audiences laughing and cringing in turn. The short also adds some visual interest by switching aspect ratio as it shows both real life and the online videos, along with some on-screen effects to show the follower count changes and comments from “fans.” It’s an outrageous watch that is relevant to today’s online culture. Overall Rating: 4/5

RED RIBBONS IN THE HOUSE OF STAINED GLASS – Written and Directed by Jeff Speed

A journalist following a lead that could result in her big break gets far more than she bargained for when searching for clues in a mausoleum. Speed not only uses this short horror film to highlight abuse and corruption within the Catholic church, but he’s also crafted a striking modern giallo. It briefly depicts the horrific acts carried out by men in religious power, allowing for the abuse to be clear without the need to explicitly show the terror. Then, the audience is introduced to a masked killer sent as an agent for the church to do their dirty work. What makes this character so striking is not only the amazing costume design and killer mask, but it’s also what the character represents. The killer is a woman boldly embodying both violence and sexuality, all the things the church desperately tries to hide about itself. While I wish the audience got a better understanding of the killer, it makes sense a short film wouldn’t have time to go too in-depth with her. On top of the amazing design for the killer, the film also has a great mausoleum setting with gorgeous stained glass windows, adding beauty and drama to the story. Overall Rating: 3.5/5