About the Carson Creepy Short Film Competition
The Carson Creepy Short Film Competition is an annual cinematic extravaganza, challenging local filmmakers to embark on a thrilling journey of creating a 5 to 9-minute horror film within a mere two-week timeframe. The catch? Filmmakers are presented with three intriguing prompts that they must seamlessly incorporate into their tales: a sound effect, a line of dialogue, and a prop.
From these seemingly simple elements, the magic unfolds. The results are nothing short of astonishing, as filmmakers breathe life into their darkest imaginations, crafting tales that will haunt your dreams.
Carson Creepy is just one chapter in an exciting trilogy of annual short film competitions. These competitions trace their origins to a group known as Wired Wednesdays, visionaries who ignited the flame of their love and passion for filmmaking in the heart of Northern Nevada a decade ago. While the original organizers have since ventured beyond these Nevada horizons, they’ve entrusted the legacy to passionate hands willing to carry the torch.
As past competitors, the Silver State Storytellers team stepped up to embrace this noble task, for it aligns seamlessly with their mission of bringing Nevada’s stories to life. As part of our continued commitment to promoting local filmmaking, we’re excited to announce that the competitions are now operating under the “Carson City Shorts” program. We are honored to curate this year’s Carson Creepy lineup, a collection of films woven by storytellers from your very own community.
But the journey doesn’t end here. We invite you to fall in love with us as we return in the winter for our Love Notes short romance film competition. Filmmakers will have the chance to showcase their heartfelt stories and celebrate the magic of romance on the big screen!
Thank you for being a part of our cinematic odyssey. We hope you enjoy the incredible works from your talented local storytellers, and we look forward to sharing more unforgettable tales in the future.
Join us in celebrating the art of storytelling, one frame at a time!
Special Thanks to Our Program Sponsors
Thanks To Our Awards Sponsor
3:00 PM Carson Creepy Films
The Collect: (Terror Productions) After a routine day, a family’s memories are wiped and their deaths staged as a murder-suicide, all orchestrated by a terrifyingly intelligent force beyond their comprehension.
Open House: (TBD Productions) When a boy and his mother return home from the grocery store they come to find that the door is wide open. Was this by accident or is someone in their home?
The Library Book: (Nevar & Stage) When a man unknowingly checks out a mysterious magic book from the library, his dreams grant him three wishes—but the catch is, they must come from a pure heart. What happens when the genie awakens to judge his desires?
Eye to Eye: (Nightmare on Virginia St.) Nathalie is new to town and looking for friends who truly see her. She gets more than she bargained for.
Midnight Hour: (Sequel Productions) Two Detectives try to figure out what happened to a murdered couple on Halloween. The evidence points to the victims having taken each other out, but Detective Boop suspects there is something more sinister at play.
The Tell-Tale Heart: (Nova Productions, *Not in Competition*) A modern reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic “The Tell-Tale Heart,” where guilt and madness intertwine in a gripping psychological descent. In this chilling retelling, the boundaries between reality and paranoia blur as a tormented soul struggles to silence the heartbeat of a terrible secret.
Alone: (Coffee Hounds Studio) A worker in a government anomaly handling group finds himself alone and lost while items of his daughter start randomly showing up. When he is fired from the company he has no other options to let himself go because he’s stuck in a loop and alone.
Forest for the Trees: (Ghost Cat Productions) In a small town, a new resident sets out for a walk with her dog only to find out that people seem to go missing in the local woods. Things go in and never come out, there’s something about those woods, something… unnatural.
Stuck: (House Films) Liam’s life unravels as he loses passion for his work, feeling drained and disconnected. But something more sinister is lurking in the shadows. A mysterious figure starts following him, growing closer with every step he takes toward giving up. As Liam’s grip on reality weakens, he must confront the dark presence that seems to feed on his despair—or risk losing everything.
Drip: (Lefty Pictures, *Not in Competition*) After his companion goes missing, a young missionary finds himself alone in an apartment where an ominous drip from the ceiling gives way to a horrifying discovery that will shatter his reality.
The Prompts
Prop: A Soccer Ball
Sound Effect: Sniffing or Sniffling
Line of Dialogue: “Here, let me do it.”
Watch for the prompts in each film.
Special Thanks to our Esteemed Judges
Jessica Johnson – Professor of Screen Acting and Film at TMCC
Sean Mick – Sold, produced, Award-Winning Screenwriter and screenwriting instructor at Western Nevada College
Emily Skyle-Golden – Executive Director Cordillera International Film Festival
Scan Here to Cast Your Vote for Audience Choice:
3:00 PM Carson Creepy Films
INTERMISSION
The Tell-Tale Heart: (Sequel Productions, The Sequel) In an act of desperation (or moment of hysteria), our humble narrator makes a rash decision to kill her employer. She spends the rest of the evening to hide this misdeed, but the lingering guilt begins to get the best of her.
Just Don’t Tell: (Lifeskills Unlimited) Blake joins a new day program, but it doesn’t take long for strange things to catch her eye. When she and her peers are unexpectedly forced to stay after hours, they uncover the disturbing truth behind the program—something far more sinister than they ever imagined.
The Mirror: (The Hallway Guys) Two friends, Jeremiah and Ben, are enjoying a sleepover when suddenly Jeremiah gets called to a mysterious mirror.
The Shadow: (Bit o’ Horror) While filming their latest YouTube video, Cal mysteriously vanishes, leaving Vicky alone and terrified. As an unseen, supernatural force closes in, she must navigate the eerie unknown and find a way to escape before she becomes its next victim.
Thursday Night Chill: (ViewFromTheMiddleSeat) A killer breaks into a woman’s house and tries to kill her.
Duplex: (Ohana Honua Productions) What if you learned that someone you had just seen yesterday had been dead for over a week? Who in the world is that other person?
Donner Pass Cannibals: (Abigail_Road_Studio) A girl takes her boyfriend to her family’s favorite hiking spot, eager to share the beauty and memories that shaped her childhood. But as they venture deeper into the woods, what starts as a peaceful escape begins to reveal long-buried secrets lurking within the trails.
Mayhem at the Morris: (Gabagool Productions) A group of soccer players head to an old abandoned hotel, looking to get in the mood for Halloween, without knowing that a group of cannibalistic squatters are living there and awaiting their arrival.
The Birkmire Loop: (I Ain’t No Scare Productions) Five friends set out for a hike in the woods, only to stumble upon a mysterious object that changes everything. What begins as an adventure quickly turns into a nightmare, as they realize they may never make it back home.
Old News: (Little Freak Productions) A young woman is stuck in a life of endless negativity, but in trying extreme acts to escape it, becomes stuck in a nightmarish timeline of endless domesticity.
7:00 PM Carson Creepy Films
Where the Light Won’t Touch: (Frostfire Cinematics) A group of strangers find themselves thrust together at the dawn of a zombie apocalypse. As the undead close in, they’re relentlessly hunted, forced to outwit the monsters—and each other—if they hope to survive the nightmare.
Watch Me: (Hot Dr. Pepper Films, *Not in Competition*) When a young girl tragically drowns while under her sister’s watch, her restless spirit returns, determined to remind her sister that some mistakes never stay buried.
Revelations: (Polytech Squad) A new virus is spreading quickly! A Zombie virus! Once bitten, you are DOOMED! Will humanity survive?
Knott Again: (Blackwood Monsters) A training video for Ren Faire participants and patrons! A curse’d good time to be had by all!
Knotigan: (Jennie Mae’d This) She is unraveling before your very eyes.
[REDACTED]: (Spitfire Productions) In a harrowing redacted segment of a reality TV-show, two officers conduct a wellness check on someone who has been reportedly acting strange recently.
W.E.A.: (Purple People Eaters) A group of friends play cards together on a joyous fall evening, when an escaped serial killer watches from the darkness, waiting for the perfect time to attack.
Devious Darling: (Undine Films) Darling craves nothing but friendship, but when her new friends don’t play nice, when her new friends try to leave, she turns them into dolls so playtime never has to end.
Over Your Shoulder: (Prospice Productions) The pre-teen sitcom of your childhood takes a sinister turn when actors fail to make the director happy.
LURK: (Super Caw 5000 Production a Go Go Productions) A “vlogger” finds some footage on the dark web of some extremely high-profile actors hanging out when an extra deadly uninvited guest joins their party.
INTERMISSION
7:00 PM Carson Creepy Films
Run: (BroomMic Productions) A fun night out takes a horrifying turn when five friends are kidnapped and thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Forced to run for their lives, they must outwit their twisted captors or become the hunted. In this high-stakes fight for survival, who will emerge as the predator… and who will fall as prey?
Voices in the Dark: (Half Squatch TV) A reporter named Tom receives a cryptic email requesting help on an unbelievable investigation. The sender, Glenn, has recently gone missing. What kind of danger has Glenn gotten Tom into?
His Final Victim: (R.Barr Media) Haunted by the man who nearly killed her, a young woman must confront her trauma and a malevolent spirit that demands a soul for her freedom, forcing her to choose between life and death.
Yes, and…: (Crocodile Nixon) An improv troupe gets their rehearsal moved into the only theater space available: an old, creepy costume shop that smells like swamp ass and is rumored to be haunted.
To Die is to Live: (Higher Plane Visuals) In the aftermath of a tragic accident, a man struggles with his faith in the world around him, and in himself.
Bae: (R41) An unusual story of love.
Again & Again: (Haus of Vertigo) The third installment in the Knotigan series.
Savage Lives!: (Sequel Productions, Now in 3D!) A professional thief is double-crossed after a big score and nothing will stop him from getting his revenge, not even death.
Crash Out: (Reno Yute) A man is drugged and hunted.
ZOMBNB: (PA Nation) A young couple’s budget getaway takes a deadly turn when they realize their charming Airbnb host is an actual zombie, determined to be the ultimate “super Host” – at any cost.
COSTUME CONTEST, RAFFLE, AND AWARDS