Film Festival Screening - SOFF 2026 Program 14 - Haunted Spotlight

Haunting, scary, and brilliantly original horror shorts!

Rated a Top 100 Best Reviewed Film Festival out of 14,000 festivals worldwide by actual filmmakers on FilmFreeway, Sherman Oaks Film Festival returns in 2026 with screenings, panels, mixers and more!

SOFF 2026 - Program 14 - Haunted Spotlight

Five films: CONTACT, SNOT, TV Dad , Dig Ditcher, and Worst Thing You've Ever Done.

CONTACT

2026 Official Selection: Short Film - Horror

When his war-traumatized father’s obsession with alien conspiracies turns deadly, a young boy trapped in their desert RV must survive, guided only by the hero on his flickering VHS tape.

Director(s): Luke Blackburn, Steven Ramos

Writer(s): Cade Hamilton

Producer(s): Luke Blackburn, Steven Ramos, Cade Hamilton, Alex Morper

Key Cast: Shawn Ochangco, Tyler Yoon, Ivan Hernandez

Country: United States

SNOT

2026 Official Selection: Short Film - Horror

A young woman gets sick and begins to panic as increasingly concerning things start coming out of her nose.

Director(s): Caden Lacy

Writer(s): Caden Lacy

Producer(s): Caden Lacy, Alexis Kihm

Key Cast: Georgia T Willow

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

TV Dad

2026 Official Selection: Short Film - Horror

Alienated from his father, lonely twelve-year-old Kyle finds comfort in the warm, familiar world of an old family sitcom. When the show's kindly patriarch begins speaking directly to him through the television, Kyle believes he's finally found the father he always wanted. But as his fixation deepens, TV Dad's comforting guidance takes a sinister turn, offering Kyle a path to a perfect new home... if he's willing to leave his real one behind.

Director(s): Sam Ripley

Writer(s): Sam Ripley

Producer(s): Borna Jamshidi, Dhruvraj Singh Bhati, Associate Producer: Jonathan Taub

Key Cast: Ron Livingston, Logan Kaufman, Keenan Moran

Country: United States

Dig Ditcher

2026 Official Selection: Short Film - Drama

When a traumatic loss leaves a young couple desperate and squalid, a man becomes disillusioned over an onion he finds in the dirt. Believing it is a gift from a higher power, he falls into a psychological spiral.

Director(s): Landon Hogue

Writer(s): Landon Hogue

Producer(s): Landon Hogue, Megan Elisabeth Kelly, Ben Humphrey

Key Cast: Landon Hogue, Megan Elisabeth Kelly

Country: United States

Worst Thing You've Ever Done

2026 Official Selection: Short Film - Horror

HIGH SCHOOL REALLY SUCKS… and no one knows that better than best friends Aaron and Keith. So when they set out to crash the last graduation party of the summer, emotions fly high and the culture clash of teenagers find themselves playing a simple game that has dire consequences.

Director(s): PJ Germain

Writer(s): Autumn Palen, PJ Germain

Producer(s): Sabrina Cooper, Jonathan James

Key Cast: Brady Gentry, Benjamin Nowak, Bix Krieger, Charlie N. Townsend, Cailyn Rice, Ethan Ahn, Emma Smith Watts, Erin Rae Kuykendall

Country: United States