The Secret Afterlife of Horror Short Films: How One YouTube Channel is Saving Them From Oblivion

• The Problem: Most short films, especially genre shorts, have a very short lifespan, typically disappearing after a year on the festival circuit.
  
• The Solution: A new YouTube channel, FINAL GIRL, curated by filmmakers Rebecca Berrih and Senda Bonnet, provides a permanent, celebrated home for exceptional horror short films.
  
• The Impact: FINAL GIRL not only gives these films a second life with a global audience but also plans to share ad revenue with creators, building a more sustainable ecosystem for independent filmmakers.

I’ve watched it happen dozens of times on the festival circuit. A filmmaker pours everything into a short—their savings, their late nights, their voice distilled into fifteen minutes. The film gets into festivals, plays to a few hundred people in darkened rooms, earns some applause. Then it vanishes. Password-protected Vimeo. A line on a resume. Gone.

I understand that frustration. When I finished films like The Passport or Kite, the festival run felt like a countdown clock. After the last screening, you’re left wondering: what now? For audiences, it’s a loss of bold storytelling. For creators, it’s a creative dead end. But what if there was a place designed to be a sanctuary instead of a cemetery? A curated space where these flashes of creativity could not just survive, but thrive?

The Short Film Afterlife: Where Do Great Genre Films Go to Die?

The journey for most horror short films is a brutal sprint with an abrupt end. For a year, maybe eighteen months, they exist in the vibrant but insular world of festivals. This is the dream—seeing your work on a big screen in front of people who care. It’s validation for the impossible hurdles you climbed to bring a story to life. But after the last festival laurel is awarded and the final Q&A wraps, a quiet silence descends. The film has run its course, and distribution for shorts remains brutally difficult.

Take films that premiere at top-tier genre festivals like Sitges, Fantasia Fest, or Fantastic Fest. They share the stage with major features, they’re seen by industry insiders. Yet even these celebrated shorts often hit a dead end. Netflix and Shudder rarely acquire standalone shorts. Online platforms that do host them can feel like content graveyards—vast archives where your film gets lost in minutes. The result? A powerful, terrifying, or hilarious piece of art that took months or years to create effectively vanishes from public view.

This isn’t just disappointing—it actively harms the growth of new talent. A short film is your proof-of-concept, your demonstration of voice and technical skill. When it can’t be seen, it can’t attract collaborators, producers, or financing for your next project. This is why platforms that actually care about curation matter so much.

Meet FINAL GIRL: A Filmmaker-Led Revolution in Horror Short Films

Enter FINAL GIRL, a YouTube channel that’s more than a platform—it’s a statement. Founded by filmmakers Rebecca Berrih (founder of Little Lamb production company) and Senda Bonnet, the channel was born from shared frustration and a spark at Panic Fest, where both directors screened their own short, TURN IT OFF. They saw incredible horror short films that deserved more, and decided to build that home themselves.

“I’d been trying to find a cool idea for a YouTube channel for years,” Rebecca explains. “After Panic Fest, it just clicked: we had to create a space to curate the best genre shorts—the ones we’d want to watch.” Within a month, FINAL GIRL launched with its first films, driven by passion and deadline pressure I recognize all too well.

Their mission is straightforward and necessary: create a curated, permanent showcase that extends the life of genre shorts—horror, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy—while championing the artists behind them. “We want FINAL GIRL to become a refuge for these films—and a launchpad for filmmakers around the world,” Rebecca says. It’s their answer to an industry that treats short films as disposable.

The Curation Philosophy: Unfiltered Voices and Total Creative Control

The power of FINAL GIRL lies in its human-led curation. This isn’t algorithm-driven content dumping. It’s a gallery assembled by two people who live and breathe genre filmmaking. Berrih and Bonnet only feature films they genuinely love, prioritizing raw vision and what they call “the filmmaker’s unfiltered voice.”

“We wanted to create a channel that showcases the craft of genre filmmaking—how a director builds tension, uses sound, and tells their story boldly,” Senda explains. They believe short films are one of the last bastions of pure creative control, where you can execute your vision without compromise. As Rebecca puts it: “Short film is one of the only spaces where filmmakers truly have the final cut.”

That resonates with me. When I work on shorts, there’s a freedom you don’t always get with larger productions. FINAL GIRL protects that freedom by treating each film with respect and context. It’s not chasing trends or prioritizing quantity. It feels more like a trusted curator recommending a rare gem—when you press play, you know you’re about to see something that matters.

When developing your own projects, lean into what makes your voice unique. Tools for visual development, like those in our Midjourney Mastery Guide, can help you rapidly prototype and refine a distinct aesthetic. I use these workflows myself when testing new visual approaches before committing to production.

More Than a Platform: Revenue Sharing and a Sustainable Future

What truly sets FINAL GIRL apart is its vision for sustainability. Berrih and Bonnet aren’t just hosting content—they’re building a model that actively supports the artists they feature. Their long-term plan involves monetizing the channel and sharing ad revenue directly with filmmakers. In the world of online short film distribution, this is radical. It acknowledges a truth we all know: making a film, even a short one, costs real money, time, and immense effort.

Most platforms offer exposure alone. The idea of receiving a share of revenue generated by your own work is often off the table. Channels like Alter and DUST have done incredible work popularizing horror short films online, but FINAL GIRL’s revenue-sharing commitment is a significant step forward.

“Most big channels don’t share ad revenue,” Rebecca notes, “but making a short film costs real money. If we can grow and give some of that back to the filmmakers, maybe it helps them make their next film.” This isn’t about vanity metrics. It’s about reinvesting in creators so they can keep working.

The Vision: From Curation to Production

The roadmap extends beyond monetization. FINAL GIRL plans to curate short-film blocks at major festivals like Screamfest, Popcorn Frights, and Fantastic Fest, and eventually launch their own production label with two branches:

• Final Girl Presents — curated shorts from around the world
• Final Girl Exclusives — original shorts financed and premiered by FINAL GIRL
  
  

This creates a pipeline for talent, where a featured short could lead to a development deal for a feature. The founders plan to keep directing one short per year themselves, eventually moving to features. It’s a holistic vision that transforms FINAL GIRL from curation platform to mini-studio supporting the entire lifecycle of genre filmmaking.

When seeking partners for your work, look beyond immediate exposure. Prioritize collaborators and platforms that invest in your long-term career, not just a fleeting spotlight moment. That’s advice I wish I’d had earlier in my own journey.

The Launch Slate: Three Horror Short Films That Define FINAL GIRL

The proof of FINAL GIRL’s mission lives in its launch slate. The first three films demonstrate the channel’s taste for bold, subversive, masterfully crafted genre stories. Each showcases a distinct voice and approach to horror short films—from political satire to stylish social commentary to pure, gut-punching suspense. Let’s look at what makes each essential, and hear directly from the filmmakers.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DICKS: Horror Comedy That Bites Back

Director: Ilja Rautsi

Ilja Rautsi’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DICKS is a brilliant feminist horror-comedy that tackles toxic masculinity in the most literal and hilarious way imaginable. In the vein of They Live, the film is subversive, funny, and unapologetically bold. Rautsi doesn’t just critique—he transforms his subject matter into something physical, horrifying, and darkly comedic.

Why did you make this film?

“I wanted to push boundaries after Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre—to explore gender roles through horror comedy, absurdity, and play,” Rautsi explains. The film emerged from a desire to use genre as a tool for sharp social observation wrapped in entertainment.

What does horror allow you to express that another genre couldn’t?

“Horror lets emotions turn physical—fear becomes literal. Horror comedy is perfect because life is both horrifying and ridiculous.” That philosophy shows in every frame, where the absurd and the terrifying dance together.

How did you find the film’s unique tone?

“It’s about trusting your core idea, then pushing every element—concept, camera, sound—until it all clicks,” Rautsi shares. That trust in vision is palpable. The film feels both meticulously crafted and wildly original.

What does FINAL GIRL mean for your film’s afterlife?

Rautsi describes short films as “fireflies—brief flares in the darkness of the festival circuit, then gone.” For him, FINAL GIRL represents a thrilling “one last showcase.” His words capture the bittersweet reality of short film distribution and the profound relief of finding a permanent home. “Online, it’s more intimate—I hope viewers are drawn in enough to resist clicking away.”

LOLLYGAG: Influencer Culture Gets a Bloody Makeover

Director: Tij Doyen

Tij Doyen’s LOLLYGAG is a stylish, razor-sharp commentary on influencer culture and teen cruelty, dripping with a slick, unnerving aesthetic. Think Ginger Snaps meets Jennifer’s Body—bright, sexy, sun-drenched on the surface, deeply macabre underneath. The film’s visual language is as much a part of its critique as its narrative, using beauty as a weapon.

What inspired you to make this film?

“It’s a meditation on the grass-is-greener mindset. What seems perfect from afar is often rotten up close,” Doyen explains. This theme resonates powerfully in our social media-saturated age, where curated perfection masks deeper toxicity.

How does genre help you express that?

“Everything I do has a hint of horror and a wink—it mirrors reality nicely.” Doyen’s approach demonstrates how horror short films can be both entertaining and deeply observational, using genre conventions to reveal uncomfortable truths about contemporary culture.

What inspired your distinctive visual style?

“I was watching a lot of Rohmer. I wanted that hyper self-serious French New Wave tone—bright, sexy, sun-drenched—to contrast the macabre story.” This juxtaposition creates a disorienting viewing experience where the gorgeous surface constantly betrays the rot beneath, making the film’s critique more effective.

What does it mean to have FINAL GIRL extend your film’s life?

“Movies are made to be seen—any chance to extend their reach feels like a win,” Doyen notes. But he also touches on something deeper: “Privacy allows for a more intimate viewing experience.” The shift from festival screenings to online viewing isn’t a downgrade—it’s a different kind of connection, one that allows audiences to engage on their own terms.

AHORA VUELVO (BE RIGHT BACK): A Spanish Horror Masterclass

Directors: Lucas Paulino & Angel Torres

AHORA VUELVO (BE RIGHT BACK) is a multi-award-winning Spanish short that has conquered the festival circuit, earning recognition at Sitges, San Sebastián, Fantaspoa, and Fantasporto. The film masterfully builds tension to a devastating and unforgettable punchline, demonstrating the power of restraint and atmosphere in horror storytelling.

What was the personal drive behind your short?

“It’s born from what I experienced during my divorce—the despair of a mother overwhelmed by her reality,” Paulino reveals. This deeply personal foundation gives the film its emotional authenticity, grounding its horror in real human experience.

What did horror allow you to express that another genre couldn’t?

“I’m 47 and still fear the dark—it’s the best feeling in the world. I couldn’t express that with any other genre.” Paulino’s embrace of primal fear elevates the film beyond mere technique into something visceral and emotionally resonant. “I want audiences to be moved by my way of understanding horror—my supernatural way of telling traumas.”

What does FINAL GIRL mean for your film after its festival success?

“Bringing a short to life is painful… but it’s the best pain in the world. Seeing that it’s still alive through channels like FINAL GIRL—I owe them one.” Paulino’s words echo the sentiment shared by all three filmmakers: gratitude for a second life, a continued existence beyond the festival circuit’s brief spotlight.

What do you hope online audiences take away?

“I hope they see a new voice in horror and want to see my first feature, which is coming soon.” For Paulino, FINAL GIRL isn’t just a resting place—it’s a calling card, a way to build an audience for what comes next.

Why These Films Matter: The Curatorial Vision

The impact of FINAL GIRL is felt most profoundly in the filmmakers’ own words. For them, the channel is a lifeline in a sea of digital ephemera. These quotes aren’t just praise—they’re testament to the emotional weight that comes with pouring everything into a project, only to watch it fade away. FINAL GIRL is catching these fireflies and putting them in a jar for everyone to see.

This is why curation matters. By selecting these specific films, Berrih and Bonnet aren’t just sharing entertainment—they’re amplifying crucial conversations and unique artistic perspectives. These films demonstrate the incredible range of storytelling possible within horror short films, from political satire to stylish social commentary to pure, gut-punching suspense.

As co-founder Senda Bonnet says, “We want viewers to feel the same spark we felt discovering these shorts—that electric moment when you know you’re watching something special.” And Rebecca adds: “I want them to feel entertained—and maybe thrilled or even laugh. It’s called the entertainment industry for a reason.”

This balance between entertainment and substance, between visceral thrills and meaningful commentary, defines FINAL GIRL’s curatorial approach. The channel isn’t interested in horror for shock value alone—it seeks out horror short films that have something to say, films that use genre as a vehicle for exploring the human condition in all its messy, terrifying, beautiful complexity.

After watching a short film you love on a platform like this, take the extra step. Find the director on social media, share their work, leave a comment. This engagement is fuel for creators and helps build the community these platforms are designed to support. As a filmmaker, start planning your short’s post-festival life during its festival run. Research curators and platforms that align with your film’s tone. Start conversations early. Don’t let the end of the circuit be the end of your film’s journey.

Building Your Own Visual Voice

The films featured on FINAL GIRL share one crucial quality: a distinctive visual and narrative voice. Whether it’s Rautsi’s anarchic comedy, Doyen’s sun-drenched dread, or Paulino’s atmospheric tension, each filmmaker has crafted something unmistakably their own. If you’re developing your own genre projects, consider how tools and workflows can help you prototype and refine your unique aesthetic vision.

• If you like the content of our blog I invite you to check out my own personal tools & my Online Store.
• Explore how to develop your unique visual style with our Midjourney Mastery Guide.
• Learn how modern tools can help you create your next project with these Filmmaking AI Workflows.
• Empower your creative process with our main guide to stunning AI visuals, AI Render Pro.

Conclusion: Preserving Creative Souls

The story of FINAL GIRL is about more than a YouTube channel. It’s about creative preservation, community-building, and fundamental respect for the artist. In an industry that often feels transient, platforms like this are building something permanent. They remind us that every film, no matter its length, is a piece of someone’s soul worth saving from the digital void.

For filmmakers, FINAL GIRL is a beacon—a place where work can continue to live, breathe, and find new audiences long after the festival lights dim. For audiences, it’s a treasure chest of undiscovered gems, curated with passion and presented with context. The channel represents a new model for horror short films distribution, one that values both artistic integrity and economic sustainability.

Rebecca Berrih and Senda Bonnet aren’t just hosting content—they’re building a movement, one carefully selected film at a time. Take what’s useful from their approach. If you’re working on shorts, think beyond the festival run. If you’re building platforms, think about how you can actually support creators, not just feature their work. If you’re looking for tools to help build your own worlds, check out our AI Render Pro prompt guide—it’s what I use when testing new visual directions.

What are some of your favorite short films that deserve a bigger audience? Let me know.

If you want to follow up more about Final Girl and the people behind it:
https://www.instagram.com/rebeccaberrih/
https://www.instagram.com/senda.bo/
https://www.instagram.com/watchfinalgirl/

FAQ

What is the FINAL GIRL YouTube channel?

FINAL GIRL is a curated YouTube channel founded by filmmakers Rebecca Berrih and Senda Bonnet. Its mission is to give exceptional genre short films (horror, sci-fi, thriller) a permanent home and new audience after their festival runs end. The channel was born from their experience at Panic Fest, where they witnessed incredible horror short films that deserved a longer life and bigger audience.

How does FINAL GIRL support filmmakers differently than other platforms?

Unlike many online platforms that only offer exposure, FINAL GIRL plans to implement a revenue-sharing model, giving a percentage of the channel’s ad revenue back to the creators of the films they feature. Their goal is to help filmmakers fund their next projects. As Rebecca Berrih explains, “Most big channels don’t share ad revenue, but making a short film costs real money. If we can grow and give some of that back to the filmmakers, maybe it helps them make their next film.”

What films are currently featured on FINAL GIRL?

The launch slate includes three exceptional horror short films: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DICKS by Ilja Rautsi (a feminist horror-comedy tackling toxic masculinity), LOLLYGAG by Tij Doyen (a stylish commentary on influencer culture), and AHORA VUELVO (BE RIGHT BACK) by Lucas Paulino and Angel Torres (an award-winning Spanish short that premiered at Sitges and other major festivals).

How can filmmakers submit their work to FINAL GIRL?

While the channel is still new, filmmakers interested in having their work considered can typically find submission guidelines or contact information on the channel’s “About” page or associated social media profiles (@watchfinalgirl on Instagram) as they grow. The key is that the founders focus on films with a strong, unfiltered creative voice—what they call “the filmmaker’s total creative control.”

What are FINAL GIRL’s future plans?

FINAL GIRL plans to curate short-film blocks at major festivals like Screamfest, Popcorn Frights, and Fantastic Fest. They also envision launching a production label with two branches: “Final Girl Presents” (acquired films from around the world) and “Final Girl Exclusives” (original productions financed and premiered by FINAL GIRL). This would transform the channel from a curation platform into a full-fledged mini-studio supporting emerging talent.