ABI
2019 · 10m
Directed by Timothy Troy
Genres: horror, sci-fi, thriller
Dr Vincent Forrester's team is developing an organic computer after six years of stalled work and lost funding. When a virus infects the system, it corrupts the mind of his lab assistant Abi, turning her against the colleagues who are racing to shut it down.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
The virus-as-possession angle is refreshingly weird—body horror wrapped in lab-coat sci-fi dressing, turning a stalled biotech project into an excuse for psychological sabotage. Everyone else would've played it straight; Troy leans into the perversity of it, and that's exactly why it works.
Troy demonstrates formal control in the claustrophobic mise-en-scène and measured escalation of threat, situating the premise within a lineage of paranoia thrillers that interrogate institutional collapse and scientific hubris with deliberate pacing.
The decision to keep Abi's transformation gradual—letting the performance carry the corruption rather than relying on effects—grounds a high-concept premise in something tactile and unsettling, making a 10-minute runtime feel urgent.
Reviews
Morbidly Beautiful rated it 4 out of 5, praising the polished techno-horror atmosphere, brisk exposition, feature-level gore effects and Clare Cooney's chilling turn as the infected assistant.