Overlook Film Festival 2025 – The short film Arson takes the old concept of the Faustian bargain and selling your soul to the devil for fame and fortune and has a heck of a lot of fun with it. In this case, members of a boy band sell their souls, and well, it doesn’t turn out quite how they predicted.

The boy band, named Actual Size, includes Drake (Jai Benoit), Nick (Thomas Johnston), Leo (Jeff Pearson), and Kenny (Jerik Thibodeaux). In the opening minute, they perform an over-the-top dance sequence that’s all sorts of laugh-out-loud funny. From there, the humor doesn’t relent. Eventually the band makes a deal with the mysterious Ms. Black (Olivia Peck), who is, well, another form of the devil. There’s even a sequence where the band attempts to perform a ritual in front of a pentagram, and again, hilarity ensues with zingers and comedic exchanges between the characters. Credit to director/co-writer Erin Broussard and co-writer Donny Broussard for such a clever and witty script. The writing here is solid.

Though we’ve seen this Faustian narrative several times before, the music element and comedy add a unique twist, as does the transformation. Once the souls are sold, the band transforms from a pop outfit to a metal band, a zombified metal band that eats fans. Again, this film revels in the absurdity and the laughs, while maintaining a consistent tone of horror comedy. For the most part, all the jokes land.

I wouldn’t mind watching a feature-length film with Actual Size. Arson contains lots of laughs, an original script, and all the right notes. It never takes itself seriously, while offering a creative take on the old Faustian bargain.