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SPUDS

A senile old man wakes up after falling into an abandoned potato cellar. Trapped in the pit, the old man is tortured by the voice of his long-gone wife as he desperately schemes to make his escape.

  • Vance Mellen Mellen
    Director
    Just Let Go - Screenwriter (a feature-length, produced, theatrical-release)
  • Vance Mellen
    Writer
  • Kymberly Mellen
    Executive Producer
  • Mellenhead Productions
    Producer
  • Vance Mellen
    Key Cast
    "Old Man"
  • Kimberly Luke Mellen
    Key Cast
    "Voice of Old Lady"
  • Trenton Mellen
    Key Cast
    "Old Lady body double"
    The Shunned Barn (short horror)
  • Vance Luke Mellen
    Key Cast
    "Stand In for horror hand grab"
    Mr. Beast Amazon Special (PA)
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Horror, Psychological, absurdist, bizarre, zero budget, low budget, micro budget
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, BlackMagic Camera, HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9 HighDe
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • C-47 Film Festival
    Las Vegas
    United States
    April 18, 2025
    Semi-Finalist, Short Horror film.
  • Hallucinea Film Festival
    Thessaloniki
    Greece
    February 27, 2025
    Greece Premiere
    Best Horror Short Film
  • Indie Vegas Film Festival
    Las Vegas
    United States
    April 19, 2025
    Las Vegas
  • Film Basement Horror Film Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    April 3, 2026
    Campy Award - Short
  • Zepstone International Film Festival
    Salt Lake City
    United States
    July 11, 2025
    Utah
    Best Horror Film (Grimstone)
  • Pheonix Short Film Festival (Online)
    Pheonix Shorts
    United States
    Arizona
    Best Horror/Thriller Short Award Winner
Director Biography - Vance Mellen Mellen

Vance Mellen has been writing, studying, and making films for decades. He currently teaches film at Nevada State University and UNLV. He enjoys making micro-budget films incorporating his love of After Effects and animation. He loves anything bizarre, grotesque, absurd, and horrifying.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When I was ten years old, I wrote SPUDS. It was my second horror story. See intro. (top right) for more details. I've always been a writer and storyteller. SPUDS' themes of penance, repression, mind-slippage, absurdity, and revenge came out of some guilt I felt for playing a part in my little brother's electrocution. He survived, but so did my guilt and regret. I dusted off SPUDS because I wanted to make a film in my living room and the claustrophobia of the story lent itself to such an exciting endeavor. I love working with After Effects, zero-budget filmmaking, no crew (other than my boys), and at a thoughtful and meditative pace.

I studied experimental film direction (MFA) at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.