Horror Short Review: Late Fees (2026)

A sinister and surreal horror short that feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone, Late Fees is an absorbing horror short. One that comes from director Jakob Owens and writer Nicolas Jandora.

Kyle Harvey stars as Michael, who is returning a VHS tape to the Evermore Video Store. Alas, he’s racked up some late fees and the clerk, Eric (Vinny Balbo) is insisting that he pay them. No big deal, right?

Well, Evermore Video Store has some punishing fees, and it turns out that Michael owes them over a hundred thousand dollars. Of course, he thinks it’s a joke, but it’s not and if he wants to leave the store, he’s going to have to pay or join the Evermore Collection Programme.

This is great. Combining retro aesthetics with modern sharp visuals and sounds, delivering a sinister story, and featuring two very strong actors willing to lean into the madness of it all. It’s well worth watching.