Watch our short film *You Better Watch Out* now on YouTube

With Halloween behind us, Christmas is right around the corner. Good thing it’s spooky season all year round for horror-lovers like me. And what better way to ring in the most festive time of the year than with a short horror film that takes place in holiday setting?

It’s my pleasure to introduce the latest short film I’ve worked on: You Better Watch Out. On Christmas Eve, a family fights for their life against an evil presence. That’s all I can tell you without spoiling the surprises. Hang on to your sleigh straps, honeys—this short film packs enough twists and turns to make even Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer a little queasy. It’s a film that manages to be spooky and bloody while refusing to take itself too seriously.

We shot this film for the Rack Focus film competition, a Dallas film race where filmmakers are challenged to produce a 10-minute short film in three months. Written and produced by myself and featuring Shrader Thomas as director, the film debuted at the competition in April of 2024. While we didn’t win first place like our last film, Trick, we did win the Audience Choice Award, so that felt great. Even better, we had a blast making it.

For this film, we wanted to push ourselves a bit, so we created a story with almost no dialogue. That meant every emotional nuance—every desire, twist and flicker of emotion—had to be captured by the camera. It’s a Herculean task, but Shrader handled it like a pro, and I can’t thank him enough for his work.

I’d also like to thank the cast and crew, all of whom worked tirelessly over a cold weekend in February to bring this spooky narrative to life. There are too many to name here, including those who donated to cover production costs—you’ll see all their names in the credits. I do want to give out a special shout out to Paul Pizzo, a longtime horror fan who graciously allowed us to film in his beautiful home in South Dallas. Everyone was relieved your gorgeous designer wallpaper survived the experience, thank the Jeebus.

So, light a fire, pour some cocoa, and prepare to experience the holidays like never before.

Because this year, something evil is squirming down the chimney. Spoiler alert: it sure as hell ain’t Santa.