Carson City Shorts

10/08/2026

Ever wondered what makes a short film stand out to the judges? Now's your chance to ask!

Join us Friday, October 9, following our 7 PM "Bump in the Night" screening and filmmaker interviews, for our FIRST-EVER Carson Creepy Judges Panel!

Hear feedback directly from our expert judges, pick their brains about filmmaking, and ask your burning questions!

Brewery Arts Center, Carson City
Included with your screening admission!

Tickets at BreweryArts.org

10/06/2026

THE CARSON CREEPY 2026 SCREENING LINEUP IS HERE!

36 films. Three screenings. One seriously creepy weekend.

Our filmmakers gave us so many recurring themes this year that we had a blast sorting their films into three unique screening blocks:

👻 BUMP IN THE NIGHT
Friday, October 9 at 7:00 PM

💻 DIGITAL NIGHTMARES
Saturday, October 10 at 2:00 PM

👹 MONSTER MASH
Saturday, October 10 at 7:00 PM

From ghosts, curses, and things lurking in the darkness to technology gone horribly wrong, vampires, aliens, monsters, and plenty of killers, there’s something creepy waiting for you in every screening.

And remember, slashers can pop up anywhere. You never know when one might wander into the wrong screening block and stab you in the neck!

Stick around after Monster Mash on Saturday night for our annual Carson Creepy Costume Contest! Come dressed to kill for your chance to take home a spooky prize!

09/24/2026

Thanks so much to Carson Now for this write-up!

The Brewery Arts Center is heading into fall with a lineup of films, theater productions, live music, art classes and community events running through October, including the return of the […]

09/15/2026

What are our judges REALLY looking for?

Before Carson Creepy kicks off, we decided to go straight to the people on the other side of the scorecard.

We asked some of our returning Carson City Shorts judges what catches their attention, what separates a good short from a great one, what mistakes they see filmmakers make again and again, and what advice they would give teams before that two week clock starts ticking.

Their answers might surprise you. 👀

Whether you’re joining us for Carson Creepy this week or thinking about entering a future Love Notes or Moon Rocks competition, there’s plenty of advice here worth taking with you onto your next set.

Read “What Are Our Judges Looking For?” on the Carson City Shorts blog!

Every Carson City Shorts competition ends with the same exciting question: What will the judges think? While there’s no magic formula for making an award-winning short, our returning judges have watched a lot of films over the years. They’ve seen incredible performances, clever uses of our requi...

09/15/2026

🎪 THE BIG TOP CLOSES IN 24 HOURS. 💀

You have just 24 HOURS LEFT to register for the 2026 Carson Creepy Short Film Competition.

After that? The circus leaves town without you.

On September 16, registered teams will receive their three required prompts. Then they'll have just TWO WEEKS to write, shoot, and edit an original 5–9 minute horror film before the clock runs out.

🎪 Competition Begins: September 16
⏰ Films Due: September 30

So gather your freaks. Round up your crew. Grab your camera.

🎟️ You have 24 hours to run away with the circus.

DON'T GET LEFT BEHIND.

09/13/2026

🐔 SUNDAY SCARES: OMG! BAGOCK! 🩸

What’s worse than an evil spirit crashing your slumber party?

An evil spirit that’s a chicken. 🐔😈

For this week’s Sunday Scare, we’re looking back at "OMG! Bagock!" from Naked Nunn Pictures, led by Elmo Colon!

An evil chicken is summoned and proceeds to torment a slumber party, resulting in exactly the kind of ridiculous, bloody mayhem you’d expect from that sentence.

And when we say bloody, we mean BLOODY.

🩸🏆 WINNER: Bloodiest Film

As we count down to Carson Creepy 2026, "OMG! Bagock!" is a great reminder that horror doesn’t always have to be serious. Sometimes you summon an evil chicken, cover everyone in blood, and just commit to the bit.

09/12/2026

🔪 SATURDAY SCREAMS: IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU 🔪

Rejection hurts. Obsession can be terrifying.

For today’s Carson Creepy throwback, we’re revisiting "If I Can’t Have You" from Salmon Run Productions, led by Chandler Zone!

What begins with rejection spirals into something much darker, culminating in one of the moments our judges found especially unsettling: being held hostage in the shed. 😬

And this one walked away with TWO awards:

🏆 Best Lead Actor — Grant Davis
😱 Creepiest Moment — Held Hostage in the Shed

As we count down to Carson Creepy 2026, we’re celebrating the filmmakers, performances, and moments that have made us squirm in our seats over the years.

Give "If I Can’t Have You" a watch today... and remember, sometimes the scariest monsters look perfectly human.