by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

One part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival that was available for international viewers were the five different shorts blocks. The blocks weere split into several categories three of which I took the opportunity to check out “Young Bloods”, “Cabin Fever”, and “An Eye for an Eye”. The “Young Bloods” category featured shorts that starred child actors. “Cabin Fever” features isolation shorts, a theme that hits uncomfortably close to home. And “Eye for an Eye'' is a collection of one of my favorite film themes, revenge. While the majority of shorts I watched are well worth your time there are a few that really stood out from the pack. 

She-Pack is a film from Norway directed by Fanny Oveson. The film takes place at a pool party and focuses on a group of girls there for a birthday party. One girl feels like she doesn’t quite fit in and butts heads with the leader of the pack to be accepted. The film is both cute and terrifying. What’s scarier than a group of girls right? The film looks great and does a phenomenal job of lasering in on what makes birthday parties like this scary. A scene with a mannequin the girls find particularly sticks out. This also had one of the few gross-out moments that made me shield my eyes for a while.

The Little Demon is a UK film by director Carol Van Hemelrjick. This is one that had amazing music and was drenched in neon red and green lights which is always a great look. It is the story of two dads raising their daughter that has a literal demon living inside of her. At its heart, it asks us do we need to change and exorcise those demons or can we learn to live with and adjust to how our children change and grow. This was a heartwarming little horror feature that I have not stopped thinking about. 

Stucco is an interesting star-studded feature that includes performances from Janina Gavankar, Michael Ealy, Leslie Odom Jr., Deborah Ann Woll, and Debra Messing. While some of these people may only feature as voices are body parts it is a fascinating cast. Janina Gavankar also wrote and directed this feature and plays the lead who suffers from increasing agoraphobic. She moves to isolate herself from the outside world and notices a strange hole in her new home. She begins to fantasize and have nightmares about this hole that seems to have a hold on her. She must face her fears if she wants to learn why lies beyond. It is one of the weirder body horror films I have seen but truly enjoyed the tone and feel of this short. 

The next must-see short is Rong directed by Indira Iman. This film comes from Indonesia and tells the tale of a woman being followed home by a creepy man. Little does he know the woman may just be luring him into her trap. This is a terrifying story because it stems from real life experiences and terror that many women face. While the plot itself seems rather straightforward it has some amazing imagery and dancing that really elevated the viewing experience for me. Also, the ending is fantastically gross.

The Fourth Wall is a French short directed by Kelsey Bollig. Chloé is an actress who is in a stage production with all of the worst people. The girl who screwed her way into the part Chloé wanted, the lead stud who is far too into himself, and the American girl who will not learn french even though she is in a foreign country. Chloé must do her best to make this crap play she is in work by any means necessary. The film has a creepy fairytale-like quality that has a dance club score which makes it all feel a bit like a drug-fueled nightmare. The film looks amazing and the lead is a stellar actress. I mean what is more relatable than wanting to kill the idiots you work with right?

Girls Night Out of Body may have been my favorite of the shorts I saw at the fest. It is an American short directed by Hillary Andujar and Courtney Andujar. Three girls are getting together to spend some quality time together. One of them steals a mysterious lollipop at the bodega they go to and are followed by a black-gloved stranger on the way to their motel room.  The girls have an odd reaction to the lollipop they share and also have to worry about the figure hiding by their door. One of the main reasons I loved this is the campy 80s element. It is so perfectly my neon aesthetic. Also in a time when we are all so separated from each other, I long to get into some mischief with my favorite gal pals. 

There are so many other shorts I would love to include in this roundup but I will let you all explore the rest of the selection on your own. A few honorable mentions that are worth your time are; The Rougarou, The Curse, and Scout. I am sure the other shorts blocks have some memorable entries as well so if you have the time go check them out!