As a media partner for 2025’s Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology, the Filmmaker Mixer Podcast extended review opportunities to the Official Selections who were made by Portland-based filmmakers.
RASH screens during Psychological Horror Short Films and Animations
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 8:30 PM PDT
The Empirical Theater
FOR TICKETS VISIT THIS NON-AFFILIATE LINK BELOW:
https://tickets.omsi.edu/events/01977fca-24ff-9865-2cf8-15a92a3fc40d
Written and directed by the multi-talented Lyssa Samuel—who also stars as Val—Rash is a tightly constructed horror short that taps into a very relatable nightmare: the stress of studying for a major test and the terrifying toll it can take on the body.
Economic in its storytelling, the film opens with a brilliantly shot image that cues us into the central issue: Val is preparing for a critical exam while experiencing the unsettling first signs of a rash. The visual effects used to portray the rash are impressively realistic. I spent most of the film fervently hoping it was all makeup—because it looked uncomfortably real.
Without spoiling anything, I can say with confidence that Samuel is a rising talent to watch. She not only directed, wrote, and starred in the film, but also served as her own cinematographer—using a single, limited location to craft an atmosphere of escalating dread that will leave horror fans wanting more.
Major props are also due to composer Mel Guérison. Her eerie, tension-filled score, paired with Samuel’s razor-sharp editing, amplifies the unsettling descent of Val’s condition, raising goosebumps as the film progresses.
Bring your Benadryl cream when watching Rash—the horror may not be contagious, but it’ll definitely leave you feeling itchy.
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