Every day through October, the Department of Tangents brings you the Daily Horror Film Fest – one short horror film for every day of the month. It might be terrifying, it might be funny. It could be an homage classic monsters or something entirely new. Check back every morning for a new scare as we celebrate horror shorts!

It’s my birthday today, so I present to you “Special Day,” voted Best Horror Film at the Los Angeles Film Awards and Best Scare at Spookfest 2018, and an official selection of Fantastic Fest, FrightFest London, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Hollywood Horror Fest and more. Written by Nikolai von Keller and directed by Teal Greyhavens.

It’s a fear we all know – the realization that everyone else knows something we don’t. On her eighteenth birthday, Emily (Maya Bowman), learns a family secret, what’s behind their collective success. But it’s not a pleasant surprise. Can’t say much more than that without giving it away, and you’ll all know in about six minutes, anyway.

What I love about this one is its combination of whimsy and the uncanny. It’s a birthday party, but everything is a little too dark, everyone is a little too close, and all the angles are just a little bit off. There’s an exciting and unsettling feeling from the very beginning thanks to the visual stylings, and the actors play it wonderfully straight. And the story has a great payoff. Short. Sweet. Scary.