Molly Henery

While the Saturday evening block of short films at Portland Horror Film Festival 2026 wasn’t the last block of the fest, it was the last block that I screened. These five short horror films are very different from each other, making for an interesting block. Not to mention, this block had some of the most haunting, hilarious, and memorable stories to tell.

Day four of the 2026 Portland Horror Film Festival had a huge selection of short films. For the first block of the day, Short Films Block 3, the focus was on women in horror. Each of the seven short horror films shown were directed by women. While the shorts created by women weren’t limited to this one block, it’s nice that the festival chose to have a section of their lineup dedicated to women creating compelling works of horror.

Director Anthony Cousins (Frogman, Scare Package) is back with a new entry into his found footage, cryptid franchise, Frogman Returns. Written by Cousins and John Karsko (Frogman, Scare Package), the film continues following Dallas in the wake of the first film as he begins filming a new show searching for different mythic creatures. When he learns Amy has gone back to Loveland, Dallas quickly follows to find his friend and uncover more secrets about Frogman. Frogman was the sleeper hit of 2023.