Hollywood Theatre Short Film Festival 2026 | Four Cool Comedies

Recently I had the good fortune of checking out some short films that will be competing in the Hollywood Theatre Short Film Festival 2026. As luck would have it, most of them were comedies, which is probably for the best. Making people laugh in under fifteen minutes is no easy task, but most of these had me chuckling, chortling, and flat out guffawing.

Of course, I'll keep things spoiler-light, but I will steal a few of my favourite lines from each film to tempt you. Who knows, you might find a new everyday quote. I know I did. Let's go!

The Fangover

"You should've brought your bitch costume"

Two guys (Stoker and Graham) on their way to a Halloween party accidentally pick up a suicidal vampire (Flad). We don't know who he is or why he wants a car to kill him, but there's no time to think about that. After a few exchanges, one of the guys decides to invite him to the party (they don't know he's a vampire, of course) and our fiend agrees to join them.

So the three amigos go to the party. There we get some house party shenanigans, like the vampire getting wasted playing beer pong, or a guy avoiding his ex and her friends. There are some cool moments here, like Flad staring at Darth Vader and Chun-Li as they're making out. However, I would have liked them to play more with the premise of a vampire at a house party. Yes, he gets a bit drunk, but a few more visual gags and jokes involving his powers and/or weaknesses would have made this more memorable.

Now, the best part about The Fangover is, paradoxically, one of its flaws. The characters seem to make their decisions based on cartoon logic where everything must lead to a funnier situation. That's what leads Stoker to invite a suicidal guy he doesn't know to a party, or what leads Flad to accept that invitation, when just a few seconds earlier he wanted to be run over by a car. Doesn't make a ton of sense, but it gives us some funny situations.

This short is obviously supposed to be a first chapter of a longer narrative, so it sets up some things that aren't paid off. For example, vampire Flad is attracted to Dawn, one of the guy's ex. She's also dressed as a vampire, what are the odds? Then there's a mysterious lady vampire watching him from afar. We only get to see her for a few seconds before the short ends. I bet she's some kind of antagonist. Whether that leaves you wanting more or just frustrated depends on how much faith you have in the story.

I imagine that, at some point, The Fangover will veer more into the kind of humour we see in films like The Hangover or What We Do in the Shadows. Both pretty great classics to follow. So, if you like that style, this short is for you.

Driver

"No snipers yet, but I'm keeping my eyes open"

This is such a silly little premise and I love it. Bill, covered in someone else's guts and blood, talks on the phone with his dad. He fucked up. Up until a few minutes ago, Bill was the presidential driver, the last one in a long line of presidential drivers. Unfortunately for him and for his country, the President got shot and it was all Bill's fault, so now he's out of a job, out a President, and possibly out a father.

The only way to get back his dad's respect is to drive another president. As luck would have it, he quickly finds a place called Presidential Pizza, and they're looking for drivers?! Talk about a reversal of fortune. Bill gets a job there, and the owner, Bosco, tells him that, if he becomes employee of the month, he'll get to drive the Pizza President. A win-win, if I've ever seen one.

The premise is so inherently silly, but at the same time it's treated as the most important thing in this universe. A few seconds in, you're convinced that this family has been driving presidents around for generations. After that, all Driverneeds is to keep finding increasingly ridiculous consequences.

However, I think this one could have been shorter. At 14 minutes, I feel there are many sections that could've been shortened to keep the comedic momentum going. For example, the montage where Bill becomes employee of the month could have been shorter. Comedy is all about rhythm, and if a joke doesn't land the worst thing to do is let the momentum fizzle out with a scene that is longer than it should be.

Still, you can't deny the commitment to the bit. Bill and Bosco deliver some truly funny moments, and they even share a cool little scene near the end of the film that gives the story some nice emotional grounding.

What? You Guys Look Sorta Similar

"Whoever can tie a durag on my head the fastest wins"

This is essentially a five-minute sketch built around a single joke. So, of course, the whole thing lives or dies on the execution of that joke. Fortunately, What? You Guys Look Sorta Similar understands the unwritten rule (probably written somewhere) that a joke can get funnier through repetition as long as each repetition raises the stakes.

So, the short starts with an annoying white lady telling a black guy he looks like The Weeknd. If you drink a lot and squint, he kinda does, but in truth, he doesn't, and that sets the tone for the rest of the film. Soon after this first interaction, the lights go out and they step out to investigate. There's a Demon standing down the hallway, and he's also black.

Now, this Demon clearly doesn't look like Devin, the original guy, but white lady Mary can't tell them apart. She pulls out a gun and tries to bring some order. She starts asking questions only the real Devin would know. Every time the white lady does something idiotic, Devin loses his shit and the Demon gets closer.

Most of the time this works because the back and forth between Devin and Mary is genuinely funny. She says some truly unhinged shit and Devin tries to make sense of it. However, by the fifth time the same thing happens, it loses some of its bite. Fortunately, the film turns it around at the end with another banger of a joke.

It's not the most original premise, but it doesn't have to be. The whole point is where you go after setting up the scene, and at this, the short film succeeds.

EnergX

"You know what's not safe for kids? Child abduction"

I have a deep-rooted love for parody infomercials. Growing up, infomercials accounted for approximately 40% of what I watched on TV. These days, the art form seems to be gone, and parodies are the closest thing we have.

The first thing that hits you with EnergX is energy. It's right there in the name. Everything, from acting to cinematography to tone, is turned up to 11, and that means two things: commitment to the bit and fast rhythm.

What starts out as an infomercial parody sketch quickly turns into a PSA about abducted children. I fell in love with that transition. I wasn't expecting it, and I hope to use it one day in normal conversation. After this, the absurdism keeps stacking, but the short does a pretty good job of keeping it working smoothly.

The short film has the energy of classic Adult Swim short films like "Too Many Cooks". There's wild turn after wild turn, and, just like Fard Henderson, I didn't feel safe at all. A lot of things work in this film, but above them all is Razz M'Tazzz. He seems like a cool dude and I wouldn't mind downing a few Pedo Piercing Pear EnergeXs with him.

My only problem with the film is the whole chase and fight sequence. It feels a bit too long and light on the gags, and that's the only part that I feel could have used a bit more chaotic energy. The funniest parts are the dialogue. Ironically, once the film shifts into extended action, it becomes less funny simply because people stop talking.

This one is for lovers of sketch comedy and fans of that Adult Swim brand of humour.

All these shorts have different ideas of comedy. Some of them rely on absurd premises. Some take a seemingly normal and recurrent situation and escalate it to the extreme. Some rely on witty, rapid-fire dialogue. Not every joke lands, and a couple could have trimmed a minute or two, but every filmmaker clearly knew what kind of comedy they wanted to make. This batch of films felt fresh and unique, and I'm excited to see what's next for these filmmakers.

Speaking of what's next, you should check out this other article where I review another batch of films from the Hollywood Theatre Short Film Festival.

Also, if you're interested in these films, you can get your tickets here! Don't miss out!

https://app.opendate.io/e/hollywood-theatre-short-film-festival-august-13-2026-677373