Overlook Film Festival 2025 – It’s May 28, 2031 at the start of writer/director Zeke Farrow‘s short film, They Come Home to Die. The world has collapsed and Farrow, who plays himself, documents the end of the world with family members. Day to day life during the apocalypse gets the treatment here, with dashes of humor, making for a unique horror comedy.

The short film works well as a faux documentary, with Farrow largely narrating and sometimes appearing in front of the camera. The short also stars his mom, Rachi Farrow, and his dad, John Farrow. Initially, the writer/director addresses what a normal day is like during the end times. The family reads old emails from before the internet crashed. They steal electricity from the nearby cemetery somehow to keep their devices charged. They plant and they garden, and they keep each other company. They somehow make the apocalypse seem normal, and well, kind of boring.

In fact, the family largely appears unphased and accustomed to the end times, that is, until dad shows up. He’s been missing for years, and he tells the family that after he collapsed in a hardware store, he was saved miraculously by others, who he claims have all died, hence his absence. Yet, mom suspects he’s not who he says he is and can’t be trusted. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say there’s a reason dear old dad has been MIA for so long.

In terms of tone, the short film works really well as a horror comedy. There’s plenty of dry humor in this one, but also some touching moments. In fact, the mom recounts when their cat named Bernadette went missing and then arrived home one night, yowling, before she passed away. The mom expresses certainty the cat returned home to say goodbye. Even in the apocalypse, there are very touching, human moments, and these are some of the script’s strongest elements.

They Come Home to Die is a clever and entertaining faux documentary about the end of the world. It’s a family affair with heart and humor that elevates it beyond the wave of pandemic-related films we’ve seen post-COVID.