Among the delights of attending the 16th annual Screamfest are the chance to see countless short films from around the world that you would otherwise miss.  Among them was a taut little 8 minute thriller entitled No Caller I.D. Written and directed by Guy Pigden, this Kiwi slice of cinema is a surprisingly efficient thriller as suspenseful as it gets in any full length movie.

The short plays on the paranoia of home invasion as a woman sleeps alone in her home at night. It’s 2 am and the phone rings. It’s her home alarm company warning her that they received an alert that a sensor has gone off inside the home. Nobody appears to be in the house aside from her and the dog. Oh, and well, she hasn’t used the alarm service in months.

The film plays with the usual formula but delivers the same elements in such a way that it consistently keeps the viewer off guard and as unnerved as the protagonist herself. Produced by Pigden and Harley Neville and staring Jocelyn Christian, we recommend keeping your eye out for this white knuckler of a short.