Casting Call
Short Horror Film · Lafayette, Indiana
A grieving man follows a mysterious envelope to a quiet house — and finds he's not alone. A tense, contained horror short.
The Roles
Five roles, reviewed on a rolling basis. Read the role, record a self-tape, and submit below.
A hopeless, exhausted middle manager, freshly grieving and in over his head. Carries the film almost entirely alone through a tense first half before the story turns hard in its second. Heavy emotional and physical role, including a staged, rehearsed fight and a major tonal shift late in the script.
We're looking for: strong dramatic range, believable vulnerability, and the ability to flip to something dangerous. Comfort with physical / stunt-style choreography (padded, safety first).
Masked for the entirety of a pivotal, physically demanding scene. Performs a staged fight. Cast to be a close physical match for whoever plays Corey — similar height, build, and hair.
We're looking for: a physical performer comfortable with staged action. Please tell us your height, build, and hair.
Corey's warm, worried brother. Appears in one intercut phone-call sequence. Small role, low time commitment, can be shot separately.
We're looking for: warmth and natural, grounded delivery in a phone conversation.
Held captive and terrified. Primarily reaction and screams, physically constrained in the scene.
We're looking for: committed, believable fear and strong reaction work.
A young captive, terrified. Reaction and screams, plus one off-screen line.
We're looking for: strong reaction and scream work.
The Process
Sides to perform: Download the audition sides (PDF)
Self-Tape Guidelines
Submit
Reviewed on a rolling basis. Shooting three consecutive days over one Friday–Sunday weekend in August or September 2026 in the Lafayette, Indiana area — exact dates confirmed when you're cast. Friday (evening into overnight), Saturday (2 PM start), and Sunday (evening into overnight). Compensation: credit, meals on every shoot day, and a copy of the film for your reel.
Looking to crew instead? Scroll down to Join the Crew.
The Crew
Five positions across three days. Volunteer crew — credit, meals, and footage for your reel. All equipment is provided — you're welcome to work with your own kit if you'd rather, but nothing is required. Tell us what you've worked on.
One person running production sound end to end — booming and recording. Two of the three days are exterior and after dark, so wind and road noise are the real challenge. The third is an interior day in a basement, with a physically demanding scene and multiple actors.
We're looking for: someone comfortable working solo and monitoring their own levels. We supply everything — recorder, boom, mics, and wireless lavs — so you can plant mics for the physical scenes instead of chasing them on a boom. Bring your own kit if you prefer, but you don't need to own anything.
Every scene in the film is night, so lighting is doing most of the work. You'd design and run lighting across three setups — a hilltop exterior, an unfinished basement, and a house exterior — plus stands, flags, negative fill, and one slider move. You'd also own power: we're running off a generator at the exterior location.
We're looking for: someone who can light a night exterior with limited units and knows their way around a generator, distro, and safe cable runs. Lights, stands, grip, and power are all supplied — bring your own if you like, but it isn't required.
The most useful people on a small night shoot. Lockups and keeping the set quiet, hauling gear up and down basement stairs, watching for traffic and neighbors at the exterior locations, food runs, and resets between takes.
We're looking for: reliable, awake, and happy to be outside overnight. No experience needed — this is a good first film credit.
One day, one room, a lot of blood. A staged fight that escalates in stages across roughly eight hours, with two more performers held in continuity makeup the whole time. You'd own the blood plan — how much, where it goes, and keeping it consistent once it starts, because it only ever goes one direction.
We're looking for: someone comfortable with practical blood and, just as much, with tracking continuity across a long day. Prosthetics aren't required. We'd also want you for a blood test in the week before the shoot — testing the recipe on camera, on skin, wardrobe and walls, and confirming cleanup works on the real surfaces. We supply the materials and cover the budget.
What we're offering: credit · meals every shoot day · a copy of the film and your footage for your reel. All equipment provided. These are unpaid volunteer positions.
What to expect: three consecutive days over one Friday–Sunday weekend (August or September, dates confirmed on booking), in the Lafayette, Indiana area. Friday and Sunday are overnight calls — evening start, wrapping around 5 AM. Saturday starts at 2 PM and wraps around 1:30 AM. Horror content includes a staged fight and practical stage blood.