Sundance Film Festival 2025 – Set in 1930s America, in a countryside ravaged by the Great Depression, Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting is a haunting black and white morality tale. It focuses on a long-standing rite in which a mother and daughter hunt fantastical creatures. Yet, the daughter decides to buck tradition. Doing so risks severe consequences.

Written and directed by Alex Thompson, the short film stars The Walking Dead’s Pollyanna McIntosh as Selma and Hereditary’s Milly Shapiro as daughter Em.   The dynamic between mother and daughter grounds the movie. Selma is much more hardened and a stickler for tradition. She follows it and rarely questions it. In this case, Selma decides they’ll bag a griffin. Em, meanwhile, asks lots of questions. She constantly defies what she’s told to do, eventually refusing to kill a mother griffin or its fledgling. Unlike Selma, Em values life, even grand creatures that pose a serious threat. All of this comes with consequence, however. Selma’s patience grows thin as her daughter questions one decision after the next.

While horror fans are likely familiar with McIntosh and Shapiro’s previous work, it’s great to see them on screen together, playing such distinct characters. Shapiro’s Em exudes such a kindness for all life. She even captures and attempts to save a small creature after it’s raped and brutalized, to the point its wings are removed. In contrast, Selma does whatever it takes to survive and honor her bloodline. She refuses to buck tradition, unlike her daughter. The distinction between the characters drives the narrative forward.

The black and white aesthetic lends itself to the 1930s time period, but it also looks visually striking, as do the various creatures, especially the griffins. I would love to explore this world more. There’s a lot here that deserves more story, including the tradition and the bloodline that Selma frequently references. I also wondered what other creatures may lurk in the skies or in the forests.

Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting is one visually rich film. It also addresses heavy moral and philosophical choices, like whether or not it’s worth it to take the life of another creature. Meanwhile, the mother and daughter dynamic sparks an interesting conflict. This world deserves further exploration in a feature-length film.