Virality seems to be the new aide to indie filmmakers these days. Especially with movie studios treating films like disposable products that they can use as a simple tax write off, many times the best way for filmmakers to get traction on their work is through viral means on the web. Among one of the more notable is J. Zachary Thurman’s short “Finley.” A horror comedy with a genuinely interesting story, “Finley” recently went viral on the likes of Youtube and apps like Tik Tok, the latter of which has inspired many horror tik tokers to post live reactions to Mr. Thurman’s short.

Genuinely funny, and downright fun, “Finley” is the tale of a haunted doll named Finley that comes to life to torment the owners of a new house. The problem is that Finley is really bad at trying to kill people, and eventually becomes an utter nuisance. Filled with great puppetry, a genuinely fun concept, and oodles of clever humor, “Finley” (now available on youtube) is a short film deserving of huge attention. J. Zachary Thurman took time out of his very busy schedule to discuss the short and his thoughts on horror comedies and filmmaking.

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