Beyond Fest Review: “Marge” Turns Motherhood and Generational Trauma Into Chilling Horror.
One of my favorite experiences as a film critic in recent years has been covering film festivals. Due to the demands of adult life, I can’t always attend in person, but I seize any opportunity to cover them virtually. This year, I had the chance to screen the short film “Marge” ahead of its Beyond Fest 2026 premiere.
Written and directed by Julia Kern and Michael Prieto, the film explores generational trauma through a gripping horror lens. The story follows Sadie (Devon Ross), whose unexpected pregnancy forces her to confront memories she has spent years trying to understand. As a child (Liv Davenport), Sadie lived with her unconventional mother, Marge (Rachel Matthews), whose parenting style consisted of improvised life advice delivered between cigarettes and reruns of classic sitcoms.
One night, strange sounds coming through a baby monitor lead Marge into the basement. Sadie, ignoring a boundary she has always been warned not to cross, follows her curiosity and makes a horrifying discovery: her mother is a serial killer. Years later, with motherhood now staring her in the face, Sadie begins viewing Marge through a different lens.
When we’re young, many of us fear turning out like our parents. As we get older, however, we sometimes begin to understand the choices they made, even the ones we could never excuse. That idea is what gives “Marge” its emotional weight. Kern and Prieto effectively place us inside young Sadie’s world, where she understands that something about her mother is different without fully comprehending the darkness surrounding her.
Liv Davenport captures Sadie’s youthful innocence without ever veering into cutesy territory. Meanwhile, Devon Ross portrays the adult Sadie as a damaged woman carrying years of unresolved trauma, conveying much of that pain through her eyes.
However, Rachel Matthews delivers the standout performance. The actress, who first caught my attention in 2017’s “Happy Death Day,” continues to show she has all the makings of a modern scream queen. Matthews balances Marge’s maternal instincts, eccentric personality, and darker impulses without ever turning the character into a caricature.
Kern and Prieto also understand the power of restraint. The basement setup, ominous baby monitor, and gradual reveal generate tension without relying on cheap scares. By the time the film finally shows its hand, I was already invested in this strange mother-daughter relationship.
Matthews’ final moments left me wanting considerably more, which may be the best compliment I can give a short film. “Marge” feels less like a complete destination and more like an enticing doorway into a much larger story.
Hopefully, the right people see this one at Beyond Fest because Kern and Prieto have created characters and a concept that could easily sustain a feature. Sometimes 15 minutes is all it takes to convince me that I’m ready for another 90.
Final Grade: B+
