Rent’s Due—and so Is the Reckoning

Read Time:5 Minute, 12 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Halfway Haunted
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Genre: Comedy, Short
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 17m
Director(s): Samuel Rudykoff
Writer(s): Bryn Pottie, Samuel Rudykoff
Cast: Hannan Younis, Kristian Bruun, Sugar Lyn Beard
Where to Watch: shown at the 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: If you think you know where HALFWAY HAUNTED is headed, think again. And then think again after that. Sam Rudykoff’s blisteringly clever short film starts like a satire with ghostly flair—but by the time the credits roll, it’s evolved into something darker, stranger, and a whole lot wilder than you were expecting. This is the rare short that plays like a full-blown feature (although if you’re like me, you’re wanting more immediately once the credits start to roll), twisting the familiar haunted-house formula into something smart and gleefully unpredictable.

At the center of it all is Jess, played with a straightforward brilliance and raw humanity by Hannan Younis. From the moment she steps into frame, she gives the film a grounded pulse—she’s over it, done being polite, and far too exhausted to deal with some ghostly nuisance. But when she discovers that the ghost (Kristian Bruun) might be more roommate than poltergeist (maybe), the film shifts from haunted-house horror to chaotic tenant rebellion.

Bruun is a scene-stealer in the best way—his ghost is the chill, seen-it-all-before energy you’d never expect from someone trapped between worlds. He’s not here to spook you—he’s here because, like Jess, he’s fed up. Together, they form a bizarre alliance with a weirdly touching dynamic, like a supernatural odd couple dropped into the middle of an eviction notice.

And then there's Sugar Lyn Beard, whose performance as Stephanie walks a deliciously terrifying tightrope. As the all-smiles developer with bulldozer energy and soul-sucking intentions, Beard is uncanny—disarmingly perky one second, cold and calculating the next. She plays the kind of “villain” who truly believes she’s doing you a favor by destroying everything you love. Her character is the face of sanitized gentrification—and it’s terrifying.

What makes HALFWAY HAUNTED such a standout is how deftly it navigates tone. One minute, it’s funny. Next, it’s bleak. Then eerie. Then ridiculous in the best way. And just when you think you’ve got it figured out, it punches through with a twist that flips the whole premise on its head—no spoilers here, but it’s safe to say that you won’t expect this one.

And that’s where the genius of the writing kicks in. Rudykoff and co-writer Bryn Pottie don’t just blend genres—they weaponize them. Every twist deepens the metaphor. Every unexpected development feels earned. The ghost isn’t just a gimmick; it’s a symbol of memory, history, trauma, and resistance. And the fact that it works on so many levels—satirical, emotional, and yes, creepy—shows just how well thought out the storytelling is.

Visually, Peter Schnobb’s cinematography captures that specific, dying-room glow of a building no one cares about anymore. There’s nothing glossy here—no slick sheen. It’s all dust, shadows, and cheap lighting—exactly what the story needs. It’s a world that feels abandoned, making the characters’ desperation all the more visceral. This place isn’t just haunted—it’s been left behind by the system long before a ghost moved in.

And then there's the matter of the runtime. At just 17 minutes, HALFWAY HAUNTED accomplishes more than some features do in 90. The themes hit hard. The story evolves in bold directions. And the emotional arc doesn’t feel rushed. It’s compact, but never constrained. As I mentioned above, I want more, though, hell, I’d take a series, a feature, anything! I need more of this afterlife in my life!

What sets this apart from the many horror shorts circulating on the festival circuit is that it’s not content to just nod at social issues. It dives headfirst into the real terror of housing insecurity, then shrouds it in a genre-bending, expectation-shattering cloak of ghosts, sarcasm, and rage. It’s not afraid to get weird. Or political. Or genuinely uncomfortable.

But above all—it’s entertaining. The cast is dialed in, the tone is perfection, and the ride? Completely unpredictable. This isn’t just a haunted house story. It’s a rebellious, absurdist scream into the face of late-stage capitalism. HALFWAY HAUNTED is what happens when a short film refuses to play nice. It’s bold, bizarre, and brimming with purpose. And if you think you’ve seen this kind of story before… You haven’t.

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