HELL

A place where dreams are real, wishes come true, and everything is always awful for everyone.

INDUSTRY DOWNLOADS

Press Kit
Film Stills
Poster
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screener

Reviews

“In a Lovecraftian setting that evokes Lizzy Borden,  or something diabolically worse,  entities  from God knows where are summoned through the art of stop motion animation.”

— (2X) Oscar Winner, Phill Tippett

“a very good short.”

— Steve Kopian, Unseen Films

“Hell stands as one of the most distinctive animated works of the year.”

— FICIMAD 2026

“seems to be roiling in the background until the climax, when it lands right on top of us.”

— Jury, PFCAT

“A stop-motion masterpiece that strikes each moment, each beat, each piece of filmmaking perfectly.”

— Christopher Francis, SALUTE YOUR SHORTS

Awards &

Recognitions

    1. Best Animation - The Anatomy Crime – Horror International Film Festival

    2. Outstanding Achievement - Bleeding Tree International Film Festival (2026)

    3. Best Director - Parker Croft - FenceSitter Film Festival (2026)

    4. Best Sound - FICIMAD (Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Madrid) (2026)

    5. Best Animation - 2nd Place -Imagination Films International Festival (2026)

    6. Best American Film - Monza Film Fest (2026)

    7. Best Animation - Monza Film Fest (2026)

    8. Best Animation- New York Metropolitan Screenwriting Competition & Film Awards (2026)

    9. Best Animation - Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival

    10. Best Micro-Film - Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology (2026)

    11. Best Micro-Film - Roma Short Film Festival (2026)

    12. Best Animation - Roosevelt Island Film Festival (2026)

    13. Best Animation - San Benedetto International Film Festival (2026)

    14. Best Animation - Stafford Film Festival (2026)

    15. Best Animation - 2nd Place - Lil' Spooky Fest (2026)

    16. Award Winner - Southern Oasis Film Festival (2026)

    17. Best Animation Short - Touchstone Independent Film Festival (2026)

    18. Animation Short - Torchfire Film Festival (2026)

    19. Best Animation - West Sound Film Festival (2026)

    20. Best Short Film - Wild Rover Film Festival (2026)

    1. Honorable Mention - Berlin Kiez Film Festival (2025)

    2. Post-Cinema Film Festival (2026)

    1. The Bay International Film Festival (2026)

    2. Bengaluru International Short Film Festival

    3. Chatham-Kent International Film Festival (2026)

    4. Cecinema Film Festival (2026)

    5. Digital Film Festival İstanbul (2026)

    6. Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (2026)

    7. Southeast Asia International Film Festival (2026)

    8. Stageworks Northwest Film Festival (2026)

    9. Venezia Shorts (2026)

    10. West Lothian Film Festival (2026)

    1. Best International Micro Film - AFIN International Film Festival (2026)

    2. Nominee for Best Animation - FilMuzik Arts Festival (2026)

    3. Nominee for Best Animation -Newark Independent Film Festival (2026)

    4. Nominee for Best Animation - New Bedford Film Festival  (2026)

    5. Nominee for Outstanding Achievement - Bleeding Tree International Film Festival (2026)

    6. Nominee for Peach Dragon Award for Best Animation - Bloody Peach Film Festival (2026)

    7. Nominee for Best Animation - HorrorFest International (2026)

    8. Nominee for Original Score for a Short - International Sound & Film Music Festival

    9. Nominee for Best American Film - Monza Film Fest

    10. Nominee for Best Animation- Monza Film Fest (2026)

    11. Nominee for Best International Short Film  - MUSES FILM AWARDS - Levadia International Film Festival (2026)

    12. Nominee for Best Animation (Short or Feature) - Oceanside International Film Festival (2026)

    13. Nominee for Best Art Direction - Oceanside International Film Festival (2026)

    14. Nominee for Best Stop-Motion Micro-Short - Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology (2026)

    15. Nominee for Best Stop-Motion Short South Pacific Film Festival (2026)

    16. Nominee for Best Cinematography - StoryMode Independent Short Film Awards (2026)

    17. Nominee for Best Sci-Fi/Thriller/Horror Short - StoryMode Independent Short Film Awards (2026)

    18. Nominee for Best Animated Short Film - StoryMode Independent Short Film Awards (2026)

    19. Nominee for Best Animated Short Film - Veneto International Film Festival (2026)

    20. Nominee for Best Animated Short Film - Worcester International Film Festival

    1. AFIN International Film Festival (2026)

    2. Animation Dingle (2026) (Oscar-qualifying)

    3. Aesthetica Film Festival (2026) (BAFTA-qualifying)

    4. Bang Awards - International Animation Film Festival (2026)

    5. Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (2026) (Oscar-qualifying)

    6. Berlin Kiez Film Festival (2026)

    7. Berlin Sci-fi Filmfest (2026)

    8. Bleeding Tree International Film Festival (2026)

    9. Bloody Peach Film Festival (2026)

    10. Bondi Film Festival (2026)

    11. Catalina Film Festival (2026)

    12. Carmel International Film Festival (2026)

    13. Cecinema Festival (2026)

    14. Cortos con Ñ. International Short Film Festival (2026)

    15. Curiosa Shorts (2026)

    16. Dallas International Film Festival (2026) (Oscar-qualifying)

    17. Disappear Here Film Festival (2026)

    18. Ealing Film Festival (2026)

    19. Eko International Film Festival (2026)

    20. El Paso Film Festival (2026)

    21. Emmarentia Local Film Festival (2026)

    22. FenceSitter Film Festival (2026)

    23. Festival Court Métrange (2026)

    24. Festival Internacional de Cine Friki (2026)

    25. FICIMAD (Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Madrid) (2026)

    26. FilMuzik Arts Festival (2026)

    27. FilmQuest (2026)

    28. Flagstaff International Film Festival (2026)

    29. Florida Film Festival (2026) (Oscar-qualifying)

    30. Forest City Film Festival(2026)

    31. Francigena Film Festival (2026)

    32. Full Bloom Film Festival (2026)

    33. Garden State Film Festival (2026)

    34. GASP! Horror Film Festival (2026)

    35. Georgia Shorts Film Festival (2026)

    36. Golden Bridge İstanbul Short Film Festival (2026)

    37. Golden Isles Film Festival (2026)

    38. Gutterbliss Film Festival (2026)

    39. Hastings Rocks International Film Festival (2026)

    40. Hobnobben Film Festival (2026)

    41. HorrorFest International (2026)

    42. Imagination Films International Festival (2026)

    43. The Indie Gathering International Film Festival (2026)

    44. International Animated Film Festival ANIMATOR (2026) (Oscar-qualifying)

    45. International Sound & Film Music Festival (2026)

    46. Kino Bled (2026)

    47. KYMATA International Film Festival (2026)

    48. Lake County Film Festival (2026)

    49. Lil' Spooky Fest (2026)

    50. Lytham International Film Festival (2026)

    51. Made Here Film Festival (2026)

    52. Monadnock International Film Festival (2026)

    53. Monza Film Fest (2026)

    54. MUSES FILM AWARDS - Levadia International Film Festival (2026)

    55. Newark Independent Film Festival (2026)

    56. New Bedford Film Festival (2026)

    57. New Next Film Festival (2026)

    58. New York Metropolitan Screenwriting Competition & Film Awards (2026)

    59. Nooga Underground Film Fest (2026)

    60. Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival (2026)

    61. Northwest Film Fest (2026)

    62. Norwalk Film Festival (2026)

    63. Oceanside International Film Festival (2026)

    64. Offshore Film Festival (2026)

    65. Oil Valley Film Festival (2026)

    66. On Art - Poland (2026)

    67. Ottawa ShortFest (2026)

    68. Pembroke Taparelli Arts and Film Festival (2026)

    69. Phoenix Rising International Film Festival (2026)

    70. Phoenixville Film Festival (2026)

    71. Pillusion Film Festival (2026)

    72. Pittsburgh Moving Picture Festival: Thriller Picture Show (2026)

    73. Popcorn Frights Film Festival (2026)

    74. Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology (2026)

    75. Pottstown Film Festival (2026)

    76. Pygmalion (2026)

    77. Ravenheart International Film Festival (2026)

    78. Red Rose Film Festival (2026)

    79. Revolution Me Film Festival (2026)

    80. Richmond International Film Festival (2026)

    81. Roma Short Film Festival (2026)

    82. Roosevelt Island Film Festival (2026)

    83. St. Louis International Film Festival (2026) (Oscar-qualifying)

    84. Salute Your Shorts Festival (2026)

    85. San Benedetto Film Fest (2026)

    86. San Benedetto International Film Festival (2026)

    87. San Diego Movie Awards (2026)

    88. San Francisco Frozen Film Festival (2026)

    89. Santa Paula Film Festival (2026)

    90. S.F.N. Loutraki Animation Festival (2026)

    91. Short Encounters International Film Festival (2026)

    92. Short Focus Film Festival (2026)

    93. Short. Sweet. Film Fest. (2026)

    94. SI-FAN (2026)

    95. Sigmund Freud Film Festival and Challenge (2026)

    96. Snake Alley Festival of Film (2026)

    97. South Pacific Film Festival (2026)

    98. Southern Oasis Film Festival (2026)

    99. Stafford Film Festival (2026)

    100. StoryMode Independent Short Film Awards (2026)

    101. Super Shorts Hackney (2026)

    102. Syracuse International Film Festival (2026)

    103. Temecula Valley Film Festival (2026)

    104. Treasure Coast International Film Festival (2026)

    105. Third Culture Film Festival NZ (2026)

    106. Torchfire Film Festival (2026)

    107. Touchstone Independent Film Festival (2026)

    108. Tylerman International Social Awareness Film Festival (2026)

    109. Veneto International Film Festival (2026)

    110. Venezia Shorts (2026)

    111. Vermont Animation Festival (2026)

    112. Vermont Film and Folklore Festival (2026)

    113. Visionaries Film Festival (2026)

    114. Walla Walla Movie Crush (2026)

    115. Wellsboro Film Festival (2026)

    116. Westland Film Festival (2026)

    117. West Sound Film Festival (2026)

    118. Wild Rover Film Festival (2026)

    119. Worcester International Film Festival (2026)

    120. The Yonkers Film Festival (2026)

    121. Youngstown Film Festival (2026)

    122. Yule Film Fest (2026)

press

  • “Inside the Stop-Motion Inferno: How Parker Croft and Nolan Gould Used OWC ThunderBay Solutions to Bring "Hell" to Life”

    — OWC Blog

  • The Machinery of Despair: Inside the World of Hell

    — We Make Movies Blog

  • Victor Hong Berries #223 - Parker Croft

    — Victor Hong, VH Berries

  • Beloved ‘Modern Family’ Actor Showcased in New Bedford Film Festival

    — Fun 107

TECHNICAL information &
Credits

  • EXHIBITION FORMATS   I   DCP, PRORES (4444XQ, 4444, 422HQ, 422)
    ASPECT RATIO   I   FLAT (1.85:1) PILLARBOXED TO 4:3
    RESOLUTION   I  3996 x 2160
    SOUND   I STEREO
    FRAME RATE   I  24 FPS
    RUNNING TIME   I 5 MIN
    COLOR   I  COLOR
    COUNTRY OF ORIGIN  I  U.S.A.
    LANGUAGE  I  ENGLISH
    YEAR  I  2025
    WORLD PREMIERE  I  ANIMATION DINGLE

  • A PAPER HORSE PICTURES / ADVERSARY PICTURES PRODUCTION

    IN ASSOCIATION WITH ECTO ENTERTAINMENT

    DIRECTED BY PARKER CROFT
    STORY BY SPIKE MILLIKEN
    SCREENPLAY BY PARKER CROFT
    PRODUCED BY NOLAN GOULD, PARKER CROFT, ERIKA TOTORO
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS MITZI JOHNSON, ELISA CROFT

    ANIMATION DIRECTOR ERIKA TOTORO
    PRODUCTION DESIGNER SPIKE MILLIKEN
    MUSIC BY MANDY HOFFMAN

    JOHN HARDGRAVE SEAN MARQUETTE
    IRIS HARDGRAVE SHARON POWERS
    NARRATOR BILL WELDEN

    DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY PARKER CROFT

    EDITOR ERIKA TOTORO

    LEAD ANIMATOR THADDEUS VARNESS
    ADDITIONAL ANIMATION ERIKA TOTORO
    PUPPETEER SPIKE MILLIKEN

    PRODUCTION SOUND SERVICES PROVIDED BY LONDON BLUE
    DIALOGUE RECORDIST AARON GOLDEN

    MUSIC SUPERVISOR AIDAN GOULD

    CHIEF LIGHTING TECHNICIAN NOLAN GOULD
    BEST BOY GRANDPA

    LEAD PUPPET FABRICATOR JOSIE HOWE
    ADDITIONAL FABRICATION SPIKE MILLIKEN, ERIKA TOTORO, NOLAN GOULD

    SOUND DESIGNER IAN CHASE

    COMPOSITORS ELLIE COPELAND, HAILEY SEE, THEDA LWIN, JENNA COLEY, ERIKA TOTORO

    DIGITAL IMAGING TECHNICIAN ZAKAREE SANDBERG

    COLOR SERVICES PROVIDED BY RARE MEDIUM
    HEAD OF PRODUCTION EVAN BAUER
    COLOR PRODUCER NUBIA LIMA
    COLOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER HEATH RAYMOND
    COLORIST JOSH BOHOSKEY

    SONGS

    ”NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE“
    WRITTEN BY SARAH FLOWER ADAMS
    PREFORMED BY WALTER B. ROGERS AND COLUMBIA BAND
    PUBLISHED BY COLUMBIA
    COURTESY OF SONY MUSIC GROUP / EMI MUSIC

    ”TELL ME YOU’LL FORGIVE ME “
    WRITTEN BY WALTER M. ANDERSON, RAY HIBBELER
    PERFORMED BY THE INTERNATIONAL NOVELY ORCHESTRA, ELLIOTT SHAW, NATHANIEL SHILKRET
    PUBLISHED BY VICTOR
    COURTESY OF SONY MUSIC GROUP / EMI MUSIC

    ”NOCTURNES, OP. 9, NO. 2“
    WRITTEN BY FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN
    PREFORMED BY JULIET MCVICKER

    INSURANCE SERVICES PROVIDED BY IRENE QUINTERO
    MOMENTOUS INSURANCE BROKERAGE, A MARSH MCLENNAN AGENCY COMPANY

    CASTING SUPPORT SERVICES PROVIDED BY BREAKDOWN SERVICES

    FILM EQUIPMENT PROVIDED BY GODOX, GOOD HAMMER, LONDON BLUE, ZEISS

    THE PRODUCERS WISH TO THANK KAT ALIOSHIN, CHRIS BLIM, WEBSTER COLCORD, UNCLE DADDY, GODOX, ANGELA GOULD, ANNIE RICHARDSON, CHELSEA SMITH, PHIL TIPPETT, TIPPETT STUDIOS, TONY WISNIEWSKI, ZEISS

    IN LOVING MEMORY OF LAIKA MILLIKEN

    FILMED AT DOODLEWOOD STUDIOS IN SAN FRANCISCO, CA

    © PAPER HORSE PICTURES, LLC AND ADVERSARY PICTURES, LLC 2025