Discover the spine-chilling horror short film “Smashing Pumpkins” (2023) by Mason Mecartea and Hunter Romanillos, combining suspense, terror, and eerie visuals for a thrilling cinematic experience.
🎃 Smashing Pumpkins (2023) — Horror Short Film by Mason Mecartea & Hunter Romanillos
A hazing prank. A wrong target. A shadow that won’t stop until the ground drinks blood.
Smashing Pumpkins is a 16‑minute indie horror short that blends small‑town Americana with the creeping dread of an old‑school slasher. Co‑written, co‑directed, and co‑starring Mason Mecartea and Hunter Romanillos, the film is a love letter to the gritty, practical‑effect horror of the ’70s and ’80s — but with a modern sting.
🧭 Overview
- Genre: Horror / Drama / Short
- Directors & Writers: Mason Mecartea, Hunter Romanillos (with John Thomas Dickson)
- Runtime: 16 minutes
- Country: United States 🇺🇸
- Language: English
- Budget: ~$2,000 (estimated)
- Release date: 26 October 2023 (USA)
- Filming location: Hendersonville, Tennessee
- Production company: The Day Productions
- Awards: 2 wins & 3 nominations on the festival circuit
Watch full short:
YouTube watch on:
Vimeo watch on:
📖 Story in Brief
On Halloween night, a high school baseball team decides to initiate a rookie with a cruel hazing ritual. The plan: humiliate an innocent bystander they’ve chosen at random.
But the prank spirals into something far darker. Somewhere between the pumpkin patch 🎃 and the graveyard 🪦, they awaken an evil figure — a relentless, almost mythic presence that locks onto its victim and begins a blood‑soaked pursuit.
As the night unfolds:
- Carmichael (Mecartea) tries to keep control of the group.
- Shortstop (Romanillos) wrestles with guilt and fear.
- The victim becomes both prey and moral mirror.
The tagline says it all: “You dig your own grave.”
🛠️ Creative DNA & Style
- Retro horror homage: Inspired by John Carpenter’s tension‑driven pacing and practical gore.
- Small‑town realism: Local diners, empty streets, and autumn air give the film a grounded texture.
- Practical effects: Makeup and lighting create the monster’s menace without over‑reliance on CGI.
- Moral undercurrent: Beneath the scares lies a story about peer pressure, cruelty, and regret.
- Cinematic framing: Shot in 2.35:1 for a wide, cinematic feel — unusual for shorts, but perfect for suspense.
✅ Pros & ❌ Cons
Pros
- 🎯 Tight runtime: Every scene pushes tension forward.
- 🩸 Effective horror beats: Well‑timed reveals and practical gore.
- 🏆 Festival appeal: Low‑budget ingenuity that plays well with genre audiences.
- 🎭 Strong performances: Especially from Romanillos, whose guilt feels lived‑in.
Cons
- ⏳ Short length: Leaves you wanting more backstory on the evil figure.
- 🌀 Ambiguity: Some viewers may crave a clearer supernatural “rulebook.”
🌟 Themes & Resonance
- Peer pressure & cruelty: How groupthink can turn ordinary teens into dangerous instigators.
- Guilt as horror fuel: The real terror may be living with what you’ve done.
- Halloween as liminal space: A night where the line between prank and peril disappears.
- Old‑school horror ethics: Evil doesn’t need a complex origin — it just needs an opening.
👥 Who Is It For?
- Horror purists: Fans of Carpenter, Craven, and ’80s B‑movie grit.
- Short‑film enthusiasts: Viewers who appreciate tight, efficient storytelling.
- Festival goers: Those who love discovering low‑budget gems with big atmosphere.
💡 Humanized Takeaway
Smashing Pumpkins isn’t just about a killer on the loose — it’s about the moment a joke stops being funny and starts being deadly. Mecartea and Romanillos channel the thrill of VHS‑era horror while reminding us that the scariest monsters are often the ones we create ourselves.
🔍 Find More & Watch
- IMDb page for Smashing Pumpkins — full cast, crew, and production details.
- Official trailer on YouTube — a 30‑second taste of its Halloween‑night dread.
- FilmFreeway project page — background on the filmmakers and their Carpenter‑inspired vision.