Outside Noise @Toronto After Dark 2025

Having worked with director Ethan Evans before on a Eli Roth horror project called Urban Legends, it’s clear that his creative instincts for building tension and emotion are something special. His latest short film, Outside Noise, which is screening at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, proves that he continues to evolve as one of the most exciting emerging voices in horror.

The story centers on Layla, played by Bobby Rainsbury, who is desperate for sleep and turns to a meditation app for comfort. What starts as a calming escape quickly twists into something sinister as the soothing forest sounds take on a darker life of their own. In just seven minutes, Evans manages to turn tranquillity into terror — pulling viewers into a nightmare that feels both modern and eerily familiar.

What sets Evans apart is his precise command of sound and rhythm. The way he layers ambient noise — the gentle hum of nature slowly transforming into something menacing — builds a creeping sense of dread that hits hard. The scares feel earned, not cheap, landing with the kind of subtle shock that recalls the best moments from films like It Follows or The Conjuring.

Evans understands that true horror lies in the ordinary — in the spaces we think are safe. Outside Noiseplays with that vulnerability perfectly, showing how fear can hide in something as simple as the sound of rain or a whisper in the dark.

Short films like this deserve more attention, and Outside Noise is proof that Ethan Evans is a filmmaker to watch. FERNTV knows that Ethan Evans will be the new face of horror.