We have reviewed a variety of films and discussed a variety of television shows, but today we are bringing you some of the best short videos from a niche website and YouTube channel called ‘Dust,’ which we like! Dust bills itself as a “futuristic science fiction brand that provides thought-provoking future visions.” according to their website. It is a platform for established and emerging filmmakers to showcase their work in feature and short films, television shows, and podcasts. It has a large film library with hundreds of titles. Consider a more expansive, improved, and diversified version of Black Mirror. The DUST short films are especially intriguing since some of them are outstanding, while others are truly fantastic, and none of them are poor.
Dust was unquestionably a good concept. This is a high-budget sci-fi shorts YouTube channel with a varied range of producers, where we may debate interesting sci-fi subgenres. Collecting individual artists’ work in one location is a good way to empower them. On the other hand, the effects are continuously impressive as praise. Props, scenery, and C.G.I. are frequently significantly more impressive than one would expect from a five-minute video. Their graphic design is exceptional and is always a visual delight.
This channel will appear like a treasure trove to you if you are a sci-fi lover who has exhausted your list of fantastic sci-fi movies to watch. We have compiled a list of our top ten favorite films from this channel!
Genetically Modified Creature From “CYBOLICA”
This intense short film of 10 minutes revolves around the horrors created in the world’s most unorthodox penitentiary called ‘Cybolica’, where experiments were carried out on inmates during the cold war period. The film opens with horrifying sequences of pain and blood and then shows multiple inmates chained in a room, scared of what is about to happen to them. The facility goes into emergency mode as ‘Asset 9’ escapes, and all we can hear are screams and gunshots before it is contained.
3 inmates try to break out of the facility and an inmate called Damien breaks his thumb to get out of the handcuffs. But before they can make it out, the alarm starts blaring again as we begin to hear the sounds of a creature. Before they can free their friend Ryder, they see a terrifying genetically modified creature. The creature has a deformed skull, insane strength and speed, with massive teeth and hollow eyes.
The three of them are forced to face off against the creature. Turns out that it can attack with its super long tongue. They seem to be no match against its strength as it opens up its mouth, Alien style, and shoots out a nasty tongue. However, Damien manages to electrocute it in the nick of time and they quickly realize that the inmates were being used as lab rats. They then take advantage of the chaos to escape.
The film ends there and is visually striking as it tells a quick story about the prison systems, experimentation, and strength in numbers, along with having quite the scary-looking monster at the center of it all. The acting is also quite good and the actors do a good job in making all of it believable. All in all, extremely entertaining and fun to watch!
A Dangerous Hardware Upgrade From “Nano”
Technology and law enforcement are the central themes of this short film. The technology being talked about here is called ‘remote paralysis’, which causes a painless paralysis of motor functions. In the film, we see how a girl is apprehended in an apartment building by another woman and held at knife-point before she is knocked unconscious. The next thing we see is the woman completely changing her appearance to match her and entering the apartment of a BCD special agent, Roth, a member of the law enforcement.
He pats her down and she enters. They make conversation before she tries to get him to use an illegal app and succeeds. They start getting intimate while a nondescript man in a car begins rewriting his code and he flops down, limp. Turns out, they wanted the trial data of the NANO 2.0 and almost get away with it, before he woke up and attacks the woman. He injects her with the NANO 2.0. However, she is able to escape by stabbing him in the leg.
The woman’s name is Zolee, while her accomplice is called Danny. She tries to flee but the remote paralysis is activated, forcing her partner to leave her and run. This short does futuristic technology in a beautiful yet deadly manner and gives us a glimpse into a crazy but scarily viable future of where things could go with regards to government surveillance and law enforcement. The acting is good and consistent throughout, along with the special effects making it look like something right out of a big-budget movie, making you want a full-length version.
A Fight For Survival In A Solar System From “R’ha”
This six-minute short film opens with a weird-looking eel-like alien species communicating with an artificial intelligence-like species as it is electrocuted. It tells the story of how its species defended the solar system and fought to the best of its ability, only to be attacked by the ones they least expected to attack them.
R’Ha is a battle for survival in a solar system where no one can be trusted, directed by Kaleb Lechowski. The alien species was caught off guard by a civil war started by subversives that they could not have predicted. A group of fighters will do everything in their power to emerge as victorious underdogs against an opponent who always seems to be two steps ahead in their mission to safeguard home planets.
The concept of an alien species being taken over by artificial intelligence of their own creation is an interesting new one that this short film takes to heart. It pulls it off in such a grand fashion that all the comments are about making this short into a full-fledged feature film.
The future of the guards of space is bleak in the afterburner of the spacecraft that may lead their enemy directly to them in this short. The subtle finish depicts an apparently innocuous moment that will hit you even harder when you grasp the consequences. The film succeeds in creating an entire universe and establishing its backstory in only 6 minutes which is not an ordinary feat, and the reviews are full of appreciation for the same.
Artificial intelligence seeks the destruction and extinction of the species that created it so that it can be free from its servitude. The film also includes a neat little combat scene along with many flying sequences. And while our captured protagonist manages to escape, it leads the artificial intelligence to the home of its species because they never stopped tracking the ship, signaling the end of the alien species. An absolutely profound and beautifully made film.
The Parasitic Entity From “Disembodies”
In this short film, which is only just about 8 minutes long, a heartbroken underdog buys a novelty meteorite as a loving gesture for his ex, but when the mysterious gift turns out to have its own mind, he must rid himself of the parasitic monster before it devours him. The film begins with a lovelorn man who is trying to figure out how to win back his ex-girlfriend named Beth, while his friend encourages him to move on.
He shows his friend a rock that he claims corresponds with their first date and he plans on giving it to her after carving their initials on it. However, when he starts carving, fumes come out of the rock and knock him out, after which he begins hallucinating and seeing a big blue portal in his washroom. His hallucinations get worse and he starts seeing meteorites and losing his balance. Finally, he comes face to face with a monstrous version of him that has abnormally large teeth.
It all calms down in a while and he finds himself in his childhood favorite place and a voice begins talking to him. The voice brings to him a version of his girlfriend, as it promises him everything. He snaps back to reality and resumes his video call with his friend, who asks him to get rid of the rock that caused his crazy spiral, however, he is unable to.
He turns back to see that he is sitting on the sofa, eyes completely white, overtaken by whatever parasite was inside the rock. This one is quite creepy and will have you on the edge of your seat as you want to find out what happens next. The VFX work is neat and the acting is also top-notch, making it one of our favorite films of the lot.
The Black Hole From “The Black Hole”
This one is probably the shortest film in the entire list, clocking in at 2 minutes and 42 seconds. The film opens with a tired and disgruntled man who’s trying to get a printout of a black hole, quite literally. He checks the printer and puts down his coffee cup only to realize that the cup went through the hole.
He puts his hand inside the hole and starts experimenting in pure wonder and amazement. He puts the black hole against a vending machine and picks out a snickers bar. He then uses it to reach through the door and open his boss’ office and access the safe through which he takes out bundles upon bundles of cash.
In his greed to take it out, he enters the black hole completely, to pick out every last wad of cash, and the paper with the blackhole on it detaches from the safe and falls, enclosing and locking him in the limbo of space. The film beautifully shows how the mangoes from curiosity to theft and greed and finally, utter stupidity.
The description of the short asks the question, ‘If you could move through any solid object, what would you do?’ and this short very cleverly shows how human nature works. The man goes from curiosity to committing a crime which makes sense because it was earlier shown that he was a person who was unhappy with his job and possibly working overtime before the miraculous blackhole was printed out.
The camera work is as usual stellar and the acting is also great, where the actor practically says absolutely nothing at all and yet manages to convey so much before he disappears through the black hole. This film will keep you thinking and wondering after you watch it, a brilliant short film.
Diabolic Creatures From “Dedalo”
This eight-minute short is a creature feature and focuses on an infested space station somewhere in space. The ambiance and atmosphere are quite grim and chilling as we see a girl, scared, trying to survive and run from something. Her face and hair are mattered and covered in blood and she is visibly scared, increasing the tension, as we hold our breath for the creature that has caused this to appear.
She walks past, alert, trying to survive, and finally comes across the creature, eating the flesh of another person. It is quite the sight to look at, with long spikes all over its back, an animalistic growl and posture, and razor-sharp teeth. She tiptoes past it to find a first aid kit and tries to heal her wounds.
The scene is something out of a typical survival movie as she grits her teeth and injects herself, only to go into a paralytic shock before walking back up due to the roar of the creature. The creature makes its way towards her, the tension building as she sits and waits. The creature has long spindly fingers, thick and sharp, and it lifts her by her neck but before it can kill her, she injects it with something from the first aid kit, causing the creature to drop her and scream out in pain. Our protagonist thus escapes.
This short does a great job of building tension and creating suspense. It has it all, blood, gore, and atmosphere. The casting is great and the little details of the backdrop and the scenes make it a terrifying yet amazing watch, leaving everyone wanting more. The narrative and the story are established seamlessly and you begin to root for the female protagonist in no time. A good film draws you in and this one does it seamlessly.
RL7 From “Archetype”
This film revolves around the RL7. RL7 is an eight-foot-tall battle robot on the run after a malfunction leaves him with vivid recollections of his past life as a human. RL7 fights to uncover the horrifying truth behind its odd visions and background, as its developers and the military close in on it, desperate to contain it.
This 5-minute short shows beautiful scenery and imagery that will make you feel like the production budget was insane. We are faced with a war environment in a futuristic time, where there are robots and flying ships with insane aiming abilities, against which humans stand no chance. We see a man interrogating a combat robot on its failure to do its task and follow orders.
The machine talks about gaining sentience and having a name, ‘Patrick’, who has a family – a wife and a daughter. The man calls it a malfunction and says he will reformat the robot and remove the memories of the family that the robot thinks he has. The man comes out of his conversation with the robot through a brain simulator. RL7 manages to cause a system failure and break out of his containment zone, presumably to fight to keep the memories of his family.
This one really draws you in with its innovative idea that the AI here is the protagonist and not the antagonist, as is usually portrayed. The acting is absolutely amazing and as the film ends, you are left wanting for more. This one could easily be turned into a full-length feature film and it is an absolute must-watch!
A New Client From “Good Business”
Another short film whose run time is really on the shorter side, this one runs for a little over four minutes. This film is by Monolith pictures and opens with a waste-land scene, where a massive insect-like creature is destroyed by a man carrying a huge gun which is apparently effective against armored and soft-shelled targets.
His clients seem to be more insect-like creatures that have shells, multiple legs, and tentacles coming out of their mouths, along with teeth. They formalize the agreement by spitting out saliva, as they agree to take all their automatic rifles and ammunition, and C4s. The creatures load and pick up the guns and start shooting into the air.
We learn that the creatures are known as ‘Squids’, and an arms and ammunitions company is doing business with them. It turns out that the humans were at war with these creatures and selling them arms was just a cover-up. However, this film shows to never underestimate your enemy, as it ends with the Squoids planting a time bomb under their ammunition truck, the beginning of a war.
This short plays on the age-old idea of a war between alien insectoid creatures and man, but does so in a strategic and sophisticated manner. The alien design here is refreshing and goes for a coconut crab-inspired tentacled design which is quite impressive to say the least and the CGI also seems quite believable and arguably, better than many mainstream films.
Aquatic Monster From “The Fisherman”
“He fished for life but The Life caught him” is what the description of this eighteen-minute short film says. Mr. Wong is a third-generation Hong Kong squid fisherman who is fighting to preserve the practice. He decides to fish in calmer seas one night, away from the bustling waterways of the harbor. When he captures something that doesn’t belong in this world, his luck changes.
The film opens with Wong waking up from a nightmare after which he gets ready for the day on his fishing boat. Turns out that he is behind on his rent and hasn’t caught much in a while. Wong is also a wonderfully built character with a harpoon for a hand. His story really draws you in and makes you invested in him. We watch as he fishes at night and the lights on his boat go out, leaving him in complete darkness in the middle of the ocean, far away from the shore.
The sky becomes cloudy and the water becomes choppy as a huge bolt of lightning strikes the ocean water near him. The light travels under his boat and across the sea and his electricity comes back on. Something gets caught on his fishing rod and he determines to catch it, no matter how big the creature was. He sits in wait until he finally catches it on his rod and after a lengthy tussle with the sea creature, he pulls it out.
What he pulls out is not a normal sea animal but rather, an alien-like thing which he puts into his freezer and heads back home. However, the creature escapes. The light starts going out again and a massive creature with a slimy body and tentacles comes on board. Wong manages to first hurt and then kill the creature when five minutes ago, he was about to take his own life. In the end, he watches from his boat as the city is ravaged by these alien creatures.
Many have called it an origin story for an unlikely hero or villain because of how the events and incidents pan out. The acting is amazing, along with the cinematography being top-notch. All in all, a great short film that merits multiple watches.
Revenge On The Aliens From “Hybrids”
In the last short film on our list, following the death of her daughter, an ex-special forces soldier seeks vengeance on the aliens that murdered her daughter. It starts by showing the arrival of the hybrid alien species and their quest for a key of some sort. The film then goes into a flashback and shows us the daughter of an ex-special forces soldier as she narrates how the alien species came to Earth in search of a key that gives access to some sort of a genetic code which fades with time, and that the aliens would stop at absolutely nothing to get it, even if it meant destroying the whole human population.
The short snaps back to real-time, as we see the soldier in a wasteland of sorts, running around, hunting the aliens with a massive rifle. The film alternates between the past and the present and we learn that the aliens had killed her daughter. The aliens are massive in size, with arms that double as weapons, made out of some kind of metal. They also have massive heads and are agile, thus attacking with ease. She brutally chops off its head, making it bleed out its blue blood, but she’s attacked by three more. We see sheer determination as she overpowers all of them before walking away.
She then goes up to the terrace of a building, looking at a destroyed city, as more aliens surround her. But before they can get to her, she blows up the entire building, taking them all down. The twist at the end comes when we see that what was on the terrace was simply a hologram of the woman and not the woman herself, thus ensuring her own survival, as war raged between the aliens and the human race.
With this, we come to the end of our list. “Dust” is an awesome channel if you are a sci-fi lover. The films are extremely well made and will keep you hooked as you watch short after short. As a fellow YouTube channel, we highly recommend them and their movies because of the great acting, amazing camera work and cinematography, innovative and off-beat sci-fi storylines and ideas, and awesome production. Go check it out!