AN AWARD-WINNING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER SHORT FILM
17 minutes · 8.4/10 IMDb · 20+ international awards · Streaming on Apple TV
WHAT IS POOLSIDE?
Poolside is a psychological thriller and domestic horror short film set in a 1950s mid-century modern home — a slow-burn cinematic experience that earns its place alongside the best short-form psychological thrillers in recent festival history. It operates in the tradition of female-protagonist isolation horror: a beautiful surface concealing something deeply wrong underneath.
Meg Stephens is a 1950s high society housewife who has given up her own dreams for her family, left alone in a massive mid-century modern home with a golf course view. Fending for herself with the aid of alcohol, Librium and Valium, and her own deteriorating sense of reality, she begins to hear voices while swimming alone in her upscale indoor pool. The film unfolds as a quiet, suffocating unraveling — built on light through water, period production design, and a lead performance that refuses to let you look away.
Shot on RED Digital Cinema cameras on location in a genuine 1958 custom-built home in Oak Cliff, Dallas — the same house built for the Chester family — Poolside uses period-authentic design, an original vintage soundtrack, and a cinematographer's eye for reflection and negative space to create an atmosphere that's both immaculate and unbearable. It is a neo-noir art house thriller in miniature: 17 minutes, no wasted frames.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer Alex Kinter and written by Erik Schuessler, Poolside screened at 18 international festivals across the United States, Europe, and South America, earning 20+ competitive wins. LA Weekly called it "one of the must-see movies of the year." Short Films Matter named it "Creme de la creme — Pinnacle of Short Film Excellence."
IF YOU LIKE THESE FILMS, WATCH POOLSIDE
Poolside sits in a specific and well-loved corner of psychological thriller cinema — stories about women trapped inside perfect-looking lives, where the danger is interior as much as exterior. If any of the following resonate with you, Poolside belongs in your watchlist:
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
A woman isolated in a domestic space, surrounded by a life that looks right but feels wrong, slowly losing certainty about what is real.
The Others (2001)
Slow-burn atmospheric horror in a period home. A woman alone with the house, unsure whether she can trust what she hears.
Far From Heaven (2002)
1950s period design as emotional counterpoint — a world of colour and beauty that makes the darkness underneath more visible, not less.
Repulsion (1965)
Psychological deterioration from a female point of view, told through visual atmosphere and sound rather than exposition.
The Hours (2002)
A housewife in a period domestic setting, quietly unraveling beneath a composed exterior, with addiction and dissociation at the centre.
The Yellow Wallpaper (various adaptations)
Domestic confinement, a woman's inner life dismissed by those around her, and a slow slide into something that may or may not be supernatural.
OFFICIAL TRAILER
CAST
WHY WATCH POOLSIDE
Cinema-Grade Production
Shot on RED Digital Cinema cameras — the same standard used on major feature films and national commercial campaigns. The visual quality holds up on any screen.
17 Minutes. Complete.
A fully realized psychological thriller in under 20 minutes. The pacing is deliberate — every scene earns its place, and the ending lands.
Authentic Period World
Filmed in a genuine 1958 mid-century modern home. Not a set dressing — a real house with real history, used to build an atmosphere no studio build could replicate.
Festival-Proven
20+ awards at festivals across New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Rome, Istanbul, and Bogotá. The Platinum Remi at Houston WorldFest is one of the most prestigious short film honours in the world.
WHAT CRITICS & FESTIVALS ARE SAYING
"...one of the must-see movies of the year."
"Poolside is a genre short that intends to paraphrase the traditional ghost story from an eccentric angle."
"Overall really well done.. enticing color palette... Loved how the story progressed. The reveal was shocking!"
"Creme de la creme — Pinnacle of Short Film Excellence."
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What kind of short film is Poolside?
Poolside is a psychological thriller and domestic horror short film — a slow-burn mystery set in a 1950s mid-century modern home. It blends psychological horror, quiet suspense, and character study into 17 minutes of cinema built on atmosphere, period design, and a female protagonist slowly losing her grip on reality.
What short films are similar to Rosemary's Baby or The Others?
Poolside operates in the same tradition — a woman alone in a domestic space, surrounded by a life that looks right but feels deeply wrong, hearing things she can't explain. If you respond to the slow-burn dread of Rosemary's Baby, The Others, Repulsion, or Far From Heaven, Poolside is built from the same emotional material. 17 minutes. Streaming on Apple TV.
Are there good short films about 1950s domestic life or housewife isolation?
Poolside centers on Meg Stephens, a 1950s high society housewife left alone in a mid-century modern home, dependent on alcohol and sedatives, beginning to hear voices in her indoor pool. The film uses the visual perfection of the 1950s domestic ideal as a direct counterpoint to the psychological horror beneath it. Streaming on Apple TV.
Where can I stream award-winning art house short films?
Poolside is streaming on Apple TV. It holds 20+ international festival awards, an 8.4/10 on IMDb, and was named by Short Films Matter as "Creme de la creme — Pinnacle of Short Film Excellence." It is one of the most awarded art house psychological thriller short films of the 2021 festival season. Watch on Apple TV →
What short films have a female protagonist in a psychological or isolation horror setting?
Poolside features Anne Beyer as Meg Stephens — a 1950s housewife whose psychological unraveling carries the entire film. Beyer anchors the short almost entirely solo, and her performance earned Best Actress recognition at multiple festivals. The film is built around her perspective, her isolation, and her deteriorating relationship with what is real.
Who directed Poolside?
Poolside was co-directed by Alex Kinter and Erik Schuessler. Alex Kinter is an award-winning director and cinematographer based in Dallas, Texas, and founder of Kinter Media. He served simultaneously as director, director of photography, and post-production supervisor on Poolside. Erik Schuessler wrote the screenplay and co-directed before passing away during post-production.
What makes Poolside different from other short films?
Three things set Poolside apart: the production standard (RED Digital Cinema cameras, a genuine 1958 location, DaVinci Resolve color grade), the performance (Anne Beyer's solo lead carries the entire runtime), and the festival record (20+ competitive wins across three continents is genuinely rare for a 17-minute short). It is not a calling-card film or a proof-of-concept. It is a complete, finished work of psychological thriller cinema.