For small-town bar owner Hank (Jeremy Gardner), his 10-year relationship with Abby (Brea Grant) has been storybook-quality. Abby, however, wants more: marriage, to be exact, which Hank doesn’t seem ready to initiate anytime soon. As a result, she leaves him without so much as a note or any subsequent communication. Hank is crushed. Even worse, Abby’s departure seemingly triggers the arrival of an unseen monster that claws at Hank’s front door at night. As the nocturnal threat intensifies, Hank must figure out how to not only save his relationship, but also himself.

In 2012, the indie horror world met Jeremy Gardner via The Battery, the writer/director/actor’s lo-fi and brilliantly executed buddy comedy cum zombie movie. With the equally impressive horror-dramedy Something Else, Gardner, along with co-director Christian Stella, further displays his knack for charmingly naturalistic performances in the face of clever, humor-laden genre subversion. Using its creature-feature-based scares to explore rom-com tropes and the downsides of arrested development, Something Else is an undeniable crowd-pleaser.

—Matt Barone

Directed by

Jeremy Gardner and Christian Stella