From the troubling and disturbing political developments in Washington, D.C., to the rise of bigotry, racism, and intolerance here in the United States, to say 2016 has been a difficult year for many would be quite an understatement.

Thankfully, one of the bright spots of this year has been in the arena of independent genre film.

2016 saw an explosion of science fiction and fantasy short films that pushes the envelope in every area of production, including theme, visual effects, art design, and scale.

So, we are pleased to present our picks for the best genre short films of 2016. Note: these terrific selections are listed in no particular order or ranking. Ranking them would be harder than keeping a mogwai dry!

(Click on each image or title to view the selection and read our original review)