Panic Fest: The best short films in ’26 were twisted dates, explosive hates, or lying in wait

Rough Cut / Courtesy Panic Fest

Panic Fest 2026 just wrapped up at Screenland Armour in KC. The yearly homegrown genre festival is a delightful cavalcade of feature films (and short debuts) hitting theaters/streaming soon. Read all of our coverage of these debuts.

The short film blocks at a genre-fest are more than merely a great way to pad your annual movie-watching stats; they’re a way for filmmakers to experiment with concepts and production before taking an expensive leap into the world of features.

Festival favorites from The Stylist (which screened at Panic Fest 2021, directed by local icon Jill Gevargizian) to Frankie, Maniac Woman (possibly the rowdiest screening of Panic Fest 2026) started their cinematic life as critically-acclaimed shorts. With over 100 shorts across the in-person and online blocks this year, here’s a handful of the standouts from this year’s Panic Fest.

Blood Moon / Courtesy Panic Fest

Blood Moon (dir. Cole French) originated as the director’s capstone project at KCAI. The animated tale of a Hunter S. Thompson-esque journalist infiltrating a moon-themed cult, Blood Moon stands out for its unique animation style and world-building. I would watch a series set in this world.

Closing Shift (dir. M-Alain Bertoni) introduces us to KC, who’s just trying to get through their final closing shift at the movie theater where they work. After some unreasonable customers threaten to disrupt her closing routine, she must fight for her life to escape the theater. Movies set at the movies is a trope that always hits for me, so I had a lot of fun with this.

Halfway Haunted (dir. Sam Rudykoff) is the story of Jessica (Hannan Younis), a freelancer living in a haunted house. When her home gets bought by a property management company that plans to demolish the house and build luxury apartments, Jessica must team up with her ghost roomie (Kristian Bruun) to scare off Landlord Stephanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) and save their home. Halfway Haunted leans more into the laughs than the scares, perhaps because the film knows there’s nothing scarier than housing insecurity.

Knitting Club (dir. Diogo Abrantes, João Rito) is a slice of charming horror from Portugal. When a deliveryman drops off yarn to three precious old ladies, he learns just how their red yarn gets its distinctive color. Knitting Club’s five-minute runtime made it a perfect palate cleanser between features.

Lingkellia (dir. Adam Raynes) is a prescription drug commercial radiating Adult Swim vibes. Savvy film lovers will queue this up before a home viewing of Buffet Infinity.

Meat (dir. Michael Skanes) offers us a tale as old as time: Girl meets boy. Girl marries Boy. Girl is driven mad by Boy’s dismissive, patriarchal attitude. Girl cooks Boy a dinner Boy will never forget.

Res Extensa (dir. Miguel Vasquez) is a sci-fi horror short with some of the most inventive sound design and set pieces of the fest. It features two scientists attempting to replicate experiments into the origin of consciousness- don’t try this at home!

Rough Cut (dir. Mitchell V. Slan) stars the Halloweentown diva herself, Kimberly J. Brown, as Erin, a video editor who often livestreams her work. After she’s hired to edit scenes for a new movie, she’s horrified at just how real they are. Rough Cut wastes no time getting to the kills, and looks great doing it.

Seance For The ‘Gram (dir. Sam Schlenker) would make a great appetizer for anyone looking to watch Demonetize (which had its world premiere at this year’s Panic Fest). A trio of influencers stages a seance on Instagram Live, but the ghost they summon does not appreciate their presence. Seance For The ‘Gram has some incredible visual effects and tricks up its sleeve- the ring light kill and “vape as light source” are duking it out for my favorite.

She Felt Like Murder! (dir. Ryan Clausen) is a soap opera with murderous puppets. It’s tragic. It’s camp. It might not be for you, but if it is, it really is.

Star-Crossed (dir. Bud Myrick) makes even your worst Hinge stories look tame. While Star-Crossed spends perhaps too much of its runtime on the setup, it’s an inventive concept that’s worth a watch.

Total Party Kill (dir. Alan Sanchez) offers some of the biggest star power of the shorts lineup, with Elyse Willems and Sarah Nicklin helming an all-female TTRPG party. After DM Deanna accidentally unleashes a demon possessing the minifig she bought of Demu, the dungeon crawlers quickly learn that if you die in the game, you die for real.

Total Party Kill / Courtesy Panic Fest

Trad (dir. Dave Bekerman) dives into the dark world of influencing- specifically TradWife content. Mary reluctantly leans into the Tradwife niche at her husband’s request, just until they get out of a financial hole. This is a short for folks who support women’s rights and wrongs- if you liked Ti West’s Pearl, Trad is for you.

Un-Dead (dir. Bo Webb) asks you to imagine: what’s the worst thing that could happen on your first day at a new job? Whatever just came to mind, you’re wrong. The answer is Zombie Outbreak. A very novel take on the zombie genre and a standout performance from Brian Huskey make Un-Dead one of the most charming shorts of the fest.

You Have Her Eyes (dir. Jordan Sommerlad, Cory Stonebrook) explores pregnancy fear in what was, for me, one of the most upsetting entries on the entire Panic Fest 2026 roster. Elle (Lizzy Miller) is perfectly happy to live the DINK life with her doctor husband Jacob (Cory Stonebrook). After sorting through her deceased grandmother’s belongings (including a letter where her grandmother wistfully opines about what a good mother Elle will be someday), she begins to see visions of her grandmother around the house, at the store, at the park. One night, when Jacob is called in for an emergency surgery, Elle even imagines that her grandmother is on the front porch, insisting to be let in… You Have Her Eyes was an emotional rollercoaster.