Sundance 2023 Film Festival – Writer/director Valeria Hofmann‘s AliEN0089 isn’t your typical thriller. It critiques sexism in gamer culture, while combining elements of Giallo, found footage, and nightmarish animation sequences. It’s an effective, engrossing, and haunting short.

Mariana Di Girólamo stars as Sabina, a gamer who faces harassment whenever she logs into a first-person shooter-type game. Without even seeing her, other players call her fat and hysterical because she speaks out against them for conspiring to kill her character and then laugh about it. The critiques they level at her, especially regarding her mental health, are nothing new. Just go back and read “The Yellow Wallpaper.” There’s a long history of labeling women as hysterical. In protest, Sabina uploads a video detailing the harassment that she faced, which causes someone to stalk her. We never see the stalker, but rather their gloved hands, much like a Dario Argento film. However, it’s rather unsettling to see them watching Sabina swim or rummage through her panty drawer.

Di Girólamo is quite effective and convincing. The Chilean actress really conveys desperation, frustration, and anger.  We never quite see Sabina in the present, but rather, learn her story through the videos she uploads, which include over 5,000 of gameplay, showcasing what she faced.

A little past the halfway point, the script flips. The stalker gets caught in a hellscape videogame. Here, the short really includes striking visuals, such as narrow tunnels where sludge oozes across the floor. There’s also an army of bugs that seemingly appear out of nowhere. It’s not always totally clear what’s going on, but that doesn’t make these sequences any less effective. It’s impossible to look away.

AliEN0089 feels like one woman’s nightmare inside the gaming community. This short contains a compelling performance, chilling visuals, and nods to other subgenres. It’s a trip, alright.  The ideas here would lend themselves well to a feature-length film.

7 Out of 10