Short Film Reviews: Online Block #3 Cockroach and more. Panic Fest 2026 | HNN

Film Review:

Panic Fest April 9-15, 2026

Oh, the Short Films. Each year, I fall in lust with a variety of incredible short film.

I have decided to start with the Online Block number 3. So, we are going to watch a few short films.

Synopsis:

Beth and Sergio are ecstatic to begin their journey as new parents. However, caring for a baby with its many sleepless nights proves to be a challenge to their relationship and sanity. Not to mention a cockroach infestation within their walls. They struggle with the tribulations of parenthood and postpartum as the roaches infest their home, their lives and eventually much, much more…

Let’s start with Cockroach…

Review:

If bugs bother you? If screaming babies bother you? If anything bothers you? Well, this film is just beautiful. New parents burning all the midnight oil. I have so many concerns, and the movie just started. Yes, it is a short film but it has me questioning a lot right now. A ten-minute short film can terrify more than a two-hour film. AND ROACHES!!! It’s a NOPE for me. Does anyone remember the film, Bug with Ashley Judd. That was creepy but that was a drug fueled film but it was the strange imagination of what was happening in the film.

COCKROACH shows you, and it also displays what lack of sleep can do to the human psyche. What an EXCELLENT short film.

Film Review: Inebriated (Short Film, Panic Fest 26)

CAST

Bethan Cullinane

Mark Strepan

Patrick Brennan

with Sharon Small

CREW (Select Credits)

Director Max r Lincoln

Writer Sam C. Dixon

Story by Sam C. Dixon & Max r Lincoln

Executive Producer Jonathan Carr

Executive Producer Will Shutt

Producer Milo Beyts

Producer Max r Lincoln

Producer Joanna Osborn

Cinematographer Lukáš Bistřický

Production Designer Kat Easto

Costume Designer Amanda Cox

Makeup & Hair Designer Dasha Taivas

Editor Ryan Ling

Sound Designer Sam Mason

Composer Victoria Wijeratne

Review:

Inebriated is next because why not. The world has seen a lot of madness in the past couple of years. I think at times, demons are not laughable anymore. Human beings can be filled with such hatred. So, the daughter has a possessed boyfriend, and she is asking her parents to help. So??? Nobody is going to call anyone? No priests? No extra help? Or is he inebriated in a way that involves unhealthy spirits. NOBODY LISTENS. Nobody. WELP, this is not going well.

It’s a Wonderful Night of the Living Dead

It’s a not-so-wonderful life for George Bailey when a horde of flesh-eating ghouls come to town on Christmas Eve. In this horror comedy mashup, two classic films are re-imagined as a darkly humorous fever dream. George, a frustrated businessman, navigates his night seemingly unaware of the looming threat of the undead; as Barbara, a woman from out of town, runs for her life through the streets of Bedford Falls. When George and Barbara come face-to-face with the living dead, they must fight to make it through the night and find their way back to their families.

Review:

Am I excited for this? That is an understatement. Random clips from It’s A Wonderful Life, and The Night of the Living Dead tells a different story. The Bell Brothers combine one of the most beloved and wholesome films with one of the most beloved and spooky films together. “He’s coming to get you Barbara.” One of the most quoted and iconic films. When you think about it, these films are a lot alike. They are both trying to escape something awful while trying to find some kind of peace. George and George A. Romero is smiling somewhere. The wash basket of heads was needed. We appreciate you Bell Brothers, and we thank you. John and Dan Bell.

Film Review: Missing Socks (Short Film, Panic Fest 26)

A mysterious laundromat owner tells her last customer of the night the terrifying truth of where all the missing socks go.

Review:

Maybe we will finally get some answers… Where do the missing socks go? Does the sock monster exist, and is it eating the socks? Why socks? I have a lot of questions. Is it the lack of sleep. Let’s watch, and find out. We are in a laundromat, and a woman is coming to empty the clothing into a wash basket. (She is folding the clothing right away. UNREAL.) It is dark, and quiet, and as a lifelong horror fan, you already know, I triple-checked my doors. As Jill Johnson would say, ARE you sure the door is lock? Can you see the door? (If you get that reference, we can be friends.)

OH Boy! The sock is “gone forever.” A random lady shows up to talk about the missing socks. I would have left. Start talking to yourself, grab your laundry, and explain to it that we just don’t have time for this. But this lady seems kind. She is going to listen to this story.

It is amazing that you can make a film that ten to twelve minutes, and it just pulls you in. There is NO way, I am standing with my back to NO ONE in an empty laundromat. The lady did tell her to just let go of the small stuff. It is something so many of us are not good at. You dwell on things; you focus on the past. You have memories that fester inside you.

Next time you do laundry, be aware of the sock monster ghost.

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