The Familiar is a 2009 comedy horror short film starring Torrance Coombs, Paul Hubbard and Rachel Sehl. It tells the story of a naive vampire fan who becomes the personal assistant to a belligerent vampire. It won awards at the Sitges Film Festival, Bram Stoker International Film Festival, Charleston International Film Festival, the Rincon International Film Festival, the Seattle True Independent Film Festival and the River Bend Film Festival. It has been nominated for several Leo Awards as well as Best Short Film at the DGC Awards.
Sam (Torrance Coombs) has always been obsessed with vampires from the time he was a child watching them on children’s programs to when he was a college student reading horror novels on the side. On Sam’s 21st birthday, a mysterious gentleman offers him a peculiar career choice: become an assistant to a real-life Vampire. Intrigued and enthusiastic, Sam takes the job and meets Simon Bolivar (Paul Hubbard), a 400-year-old Vampire. Everything about the Vampire does hold some truth to it; a truth followed by a dose of hard-reality. Sam soon realizes that it is not so cool or pleasant to serve his corrupt and neurotic behavior.
Torrance Coombs as Sam Matheson
Paul Hubbard as Simon Bolivar
Rachel Sehl as Alice
Brock Shoveller as The Old Gentleman
Jason Harder as Thomas Holland
Luisa Jojic as Penny
Suzka Mares as The Vampire's Escort
Josh Blacker as Virgil
Art Kitching as Nosferatu/The Jogger
Rosette Sharma as The Vampire's Call Girl
Kody Zimmermann came up with the idea reading Dracula while working as an actor's assistant: "I felt like...the vampire was a metaphor for the boss from hell. I was always interested in the Renfield character in Dracula, and no one ever really did his story – that I know of. What kind of a person would devote himself to this sinister, Satanic agent and still call himself a human being? I thought that was the connection – you are crazy for being part of this world, but you are not exactly the main character, either. I wanted to bridge those two things, and I think it fit well while I was writing it: serving this greater being while being caught up in this insanity. A lot of us go into these jobs where we ask ourselves, “why are we doing this”.
2010: HorrorQuest Film Festival for Best Short Film
2010: Sitges Film Festival Official Fantastic Competition Panorama for Best Short Film
2010: Vampire Film Festival for Outstanding Vampire Short
2010: Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival for Best Horror Short Film
2010: Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival for Best Screenplay
2010: Mile High Horror Film Festival Audience Award for Best Short Film
2010: Thriller! Chiller! Film Festival Best Short Film
2010: Bram Stoker International Film Festival for Best Short Film
2010: Maelstrom International Fantasy Film Festival for Audience Favorite Best Horror Short Film
2010: Action/Cut Short Film Competition for Best Fiction Film
2010: Seattle's True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) Fangbanger Award
2010: River Bend International Film Festival Hight Point Award
2010: Rincón International Film Festival for Best Horror Short
2010: Charleston International Film Festival for Best Short Thriller
2011: Killer Film Festival for Best Screenplay (Kody Zimmermann)
2011: New Orleans Horror Film Festival for Best Screenplay (Kody Zimmermann)
2011: New Orleans Horror Film Festival for Best Horror Short
2010: Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival for Best Director (Kody Zimmermann)
2010: Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival for Best Cinematography (George Campbell)
2010: Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival for Best Actor (Torrance Coombs)
2010: Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival for Best Actor (Paul Hubbard)
2010: Terror Film Festival for Best Horror Short Film
2010: Action On Film International Film Festival for Best Make-Up
2010: Directors Guild of Canada Award for Best Short Film
2010: Leo Award for Best Screenplay in a Short Drama (Kody Zimmermann)
2010: Leo Award for Best Overall Sound in a Short Drama (Hugo Dela Cerda, Kevin Belen, David Green)
2010: Leo Award for Best Sound Editing in a Short Drama (Kelly Cole, Bill Mellow, Kevin Belen, Graeme Hughes, David Green)
2010: Leo Award for Best Performance Male Lead in a Short Drama (Torrance Coombs)
2013: The Days of the Dead Horror Convention/Atlanta
2013: Shivers Film Festival
2012: InFest Underground Screening Series
2011: Village of the Damned Horror Film Festival
2011: Dark Carnival Film Festival
2011: Scary Shorts CIFF Film Screening
2011: South African Horrorfest
2011: Buried Alive Film Festival
2011: Singapore International Film Festival
2011: Little Terrors Film Screening
2011: The Horror Imaginings Film Festival
2011: Horror Quest Film Festival
2011: PollyGrind Film Festival
2011: New Orleans Horror Film Festival
2011: Killer Film Festival
2011: IATSE 669 Women's Mini Film Festival
2011: The HorrorFind Film Festival
2011: Renovation Film Festival
2011: The Days of the Dead Horror Convention/Seattle
2011: Crypticon
2011: Independent Film Quarterly Film & New Media Festival
2010: Abertoir Horror Film Festival
2010: Mile High Horror Film Festival
2010: Indieflix Online Film Festival
2010: Buffalo Screams Film Festival
2010: International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival
2010: Sacramento Horror Film Festival
2010: Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival
2010: Sitges Film Festival
2010: Terror Film Festival
2010: Thriller! Chiller! Film Festival
2010: Eerie Horror Film Festival
2010: Vampire Film Festival
2010: Maelstrom International Film Festival
2010: Strasburg International Film Festival
2010: Route 66 International Film Festival
2010: Atlanta Underground Film Festival
2010: Action On Film International Film Festival
2010: Tri-City Independent Film Festival
2010: Atlanta Horror Film Festival
2010: Bram Stoker International Film Festival
2010: Seattle's True Independent Film Festival (STIFF)
2010: River Bend International Film Festival
2010: Rincón International Film Festival
2010: A Night of Horror International Film Festival
2010: Charleston International Film Festival
2010: Nevermore International Film Festival
2010: Spokane International Film Festival
2009: New York City Horror Film Festival
2009: Screamfest Horror Film Festival
