Watch: Unsettling ‘Holiday House’ Short Film Feat. AnnaSophia Robb
by Alex Billington
December 2, 2024
Source: YouTube
“Wow you’re home is super nice.” It might be a good idea to never meet your fans. It can be super awkward if you ever meet them – maybe even dangerous. Yet another eerie new film about parasocial relationships. Holiday House is a short film created by Alex Heller, who also directed & starred in the indie film The Year Between a few years ago. Heller describes it as “mysterious, miniature movie.” A content creator feels obligated to let her internet benefactor visit her workshop. His arrival explores uncomfortable boundaries of a parasocial friendship. Starring AnnaSophia Robb as Shelley & David Brown as Marky, with Antonio Marziale & Adrienne Becker. It is very similar to the other short called Followers about a similar home invasion. I also always reference Ingrid Goes West as the original film about parasocial relationships, where people create extremely unhealthy connections to folks they only know on social media. Freaky! View below.
Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this one. Brief intro from YouTube: “In this tense story of online intimacy, Marky derives human connection from the online presence of dollhouse-builder Shelley. After strategically sending her money, he invites himself over to see the dollhouse. When they finally meet in person, Shelley realizes that Marky isn’t the ‘friend’ she expected.” Holiday House is written and directed by filmmaker Alex Heller from Illinois – you can view more of her work on her Vimeo page or visit her official website or follow on IG @thementallytrillest. She also directed the feature film The Year Between (2022). Produced by David Brown, Jack Forbes, Alex Heller. With cinematography by Brody Anderson, and music composed by Kotomi. This short premiered at the 2024 Palm Springs ShortFest earlier this year. For more info on the film, head to SOTW or stop by Alex’s IG. To discover more short films click here. Your thoughts?