Horror Short Review: The Hatch (2025)

The Hatch is a cosmic horror short by Kimmo Hultmark, co-written with Johan Stjernquist, the latter of who also stars in it.

In the bowels of a school, one that saw the recent mysterious disappearance of a young student, sits a door. Or for argument’s sake, a hatch, and unknown to anyone, something lives inside. Or it’s a gateway to a different dimension. The short isn’t particularly clear about that. Regardless, wicked things happen when the hatch opens, and unfortunately for a man who just wants to read a comic book and eat his sandwich, those wicked things are heading his way.

The Hatch looks great, sounds great, and plays out in interesting fashion, but doesn’t quite mange to stick the landing. There’s something a bit off about the reveal, and the ambiguity around the monster doesn’t help. The short is described as a cosmic horror, but why?

It’s not a bad horror short, far from it, but it’s not one that will live long in the memory.