Summer is a great time to catch a few horror shorts on Youtube. They’re nice and short with a kick to them It truly amazes me what a skilled cast and crew can do with just a few minutes worth of story. You might recognize a couple f the names on the list. Both shorts, Mama and Lights Out, are the original shorts that the feature length movies are based on. You also might recognize I Heard It, Too. It pops up on a lot of lists for horror stories in a few sentences. I hope you guys get the chance to check them out and let them run a brief chill up your spine.
*Sci-fi and Scary is not affiliated with any of the channels listed
Mama
Mama was made into a full-length movie by Guillermo del Toro and the link to this particular one also includes an introduction by Guillermo del Toro. It also stars Jessica Chastain (Crimson Peak).
Lights Out
Lights Out was made into a movie in 2016. It was directed by David Sandberg and stars Teresa Palmer and Gabriel Bateman. The script tries to expand on the short with a bit of explanation but (in my opinion) didn’t really go into it as much as it could have.
Check out Lilyn’s review of Lights Out!
I Heard It, Too
I Heard It, Too is the quintessential horror story told in just a few sentences. It also has an urban legend feel to it that really fits well with its brevity.
Slut
Slut plays on and flips tropes around in the serial killer category. It’s also a bit longer than most of the other shorts on this list, being almost half an hour long. I do want to warn you guys, though. If you watch it, make sure to check the description for potential triggers as it’s fairly violent with an attempted sexual assault.
Don’t Look Away
Don’t Look Away could easily be made into a feature length movie. There’s so much unexplained in it and it would be really fun to create a backstory for the creature and the family’s involvement with it. It’s also pretty creepy looking and has a lot of room for some good scares built up around it.
I hope you guys give these a chance and I will be sure to bring you guys more in the future! Especially as there were two more that I wanted to add but I couldn’t remember their names! So keep on the lookout in August for a new list. Enjoy and beat the summer heat with some chills down the spine!
GracieKat was the first co-host of Sci-Fi & Scary, Lilyn’s partner-in-crime, and sub-head of the Kali Krew. She reviews horror books, movies, and games for the site. She also does a weekly Focus on the Frightful feature, and is the site list-maker. She is also in control of the Sci-Fi & Scary podcast which will relaunch soon.
A good way to spend this wretchedly hot day, watching all of these. My own favorite was “Don’t Look Away,” because its unresolved ending had some good takeaway possibilities.
I’m less fond of the ending jump scare, although “Lights Out” does OK, an ending scare best fitting a truly short story. (Just finished a novel, “Family Plot” by Cherie Priest, which is too long to resort to that sort of ending, which unfortunately it did.)