Swym Good Films is dragging Chicago horror across the continent—and it’s screaming all the way there. The indie production house’s latest nightmare fuel, The Girl in the Street, is officially premiering at three of the most blood-soaked horror festivals in North America: Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Vancouver Horror Show, and FogFest in Atlantic Canada. Not bad for a short film with a screaming woman in a mask and some serious moral dread.
Directed by rising Black filmmaking duo Chris & Miles (Chris Paicely and Miles August), and written by Paicely, The Girl in the Street is a grim psychological slice that doesn’t waste time with jump scares. It digs deeper—into guilt, survival, and the rotten core of suburbia.
Here’s the setup: Malachi (Shawn Roundtree Jr., The Emperor of Ocean Park) lands his dream job and ditches his dying sister (D’Andra Laneé) to move to some Norman Rockwell-looking ghost town. As soon as he pulls up, things go sideways. A creepy moving truck driver (Chris Anthony) sets the tone, but the real mind-bender arrives when a bloodied, masked woman appears outside his new home, howling on the street like a banshee from hell. Does he help her? Or lock the door and protect his new life? Let’s just say morality doesn’t come with a roadmap—and in this town, “being good” might get you gutted.
“Let’s just say morality doesn’t come with a roadmap—and in this town, ‘being good’ might get you gutted.”
Throw in a chilling cameo by A Nightmare on Elm Street legend Heather Langenkamp and you’ve got a genre stew that blends emotional weight with old-school horror iconography. According to Paicely, “Bringing a piece of Chicago’s creative energy to these stages is a proud moment for Swym Good Films and a testament to the power of diverse voices in horror.”
His co-director, August, agrees, saying, “Having the film showcased alongside some of the genre’s best is a milestone for our team. We’re grateful to the amazing cast, including horror legend Heather Langenkamp, whose presence, without question, elevates the film’s spirit.”
Shot with a cinematic edge by Lana Mattice and polished by the same pros behind When Evil Lurks (Esho Sound) and Strange Darling (Fotokem), the film is backed by a score from composer Pablo Fuu that’s designed to get under your skin and stay there.
You can catch The Girl in the Street at the following festivals:
- Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Nightmare Fuel Shorts Block
October 25, 11:15 AM
Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Vancouver Horror Show
Shorts Program IV
October 19, 12:45 PM
Cineplex Cinemas International Village, Vancouver, BC - FogFest
St. John’s, Newfoundland
November 7–10 (exact schedule TBA)
🎥 Official Trailer: Watch here on Vimeo
Chris & Miles are no strangers to the fest circuit. Their previous short ALUS tackled AI and fractured relationships, while last year’s BOUND explored claustrophobic horror from the POV of a former dancer spiraling inside her own home. They’re also unleashing another brain-scrambler, SILK, this week at the Chicago Horror Film Festival (Sept 26–28). That one leans into late-night infomercial surrealism, following a woman’s transformation after a mysterious beauty product wrecks her reality. Think Lynchian satire meets body horror—with a wink.
With The Girl in the Street, these filmmakers are proving what indie horror does best—asking hard questions, pushing style, and making studio horror look like soft-serve. Keep your eye on Chris & Miles. And if you see a masked woman in the street… maybe just walk the other way.
