31/07/2026
" "THE HIDEBEHIND" (2018)
A lone backpacker — injured ankle, no water, hopelessly lost - spots a cloaked figure standing silently between the trees. He calls out. It doesn't respond. He gets closer. It scurries — unnaturally fast — and vanishes. So he follows it deeper into the woods. That decision is what kills him.
Directed by Parker Finn - yes, the same Parker Finn who went on to make Smile — The Hidebehind is a 10-minute masterclass in folkloric dread, based on a genuine creature of American wilderness mythology: a being so large it hides behind trees, so fast it can never be directly seen, and so patient it simply waits until you walk toward it.
Picked up by ALTER and viewed over 200,000 times in its first week, this is the short film that quietly launched one of horror's most exciting modern directors. One location. Near-zero dialogue. Absolutely no safety net. This is the film that proved Parker Finn was built for horror. C
IMDB: 6.4/10 ≤
> (The Short Film That Launched the Director of
Smile)
Where to Watch: YouTube / ALTER (Free)
Genre: Folk Horror / Creature Feature / Wilderness Horror Short
• Did you know Parker Finn directed this before Smile?
Comment YES or NO — and tell me if knowing that changes how you see it.
* Save this and watch it tonight - 10 minutes, completely free on YouTube, and one of the most effective folklore horror shorts ever made.
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