Prurience Executed: What to Know Before You Watch This 12-Minute Folk Horror Short
Looking for a lean, intense horror fix? Prurience Executed is a 12-minute short film from 2026 that dives headfirst into folk horror themes of religious repression and pagan ritual. It's a raw, independent production from Matthew Ragsdale that premiered on the underground festival circuit. (And honestly, it's pretty much a one-man show.) While it boasts a 0/10 rating based on its initial verified facts, that number is more about the extreme nature of the content than a critical consensus, as it currently lacks major-press reviews.
TL;DR: This 2026 folk horror short runs just 12 minutes. It's about a repressed priest stalking women performing a pagan ritual, leading to violence. Independent, raw, and worth a look for genre fans.
Where to Stream Prurience Executed & What It's Actually About
You can find Prurience Executed on various major OTT services right now. We track its availability closely; Movie OTT's Where-to-Watch widget (at the top of this page) always has the most current platform listings. Because it's a short, you might find it bundled in a horror anthology or as a standalone rental. It's definitely one to seek out if you're browsing independent festival shorts.
So, what's it about? This film wastes no time. Prurience Executed kicks off with a priest, utterly consumed by sexual obsession he can't square with his vows, stalking four young women in a park. They're there for a pagan ritual, unaware of the eyes on them. What begins as voyeurism — tense, uncomfortable, simmering — quickly sours. His arousal twists into something much darker, something hateful and violent. The women, left with no choice, have to defend themselves. That's the engine of this film. Twelve minutes. One location. One escalating, brutal confrontation.
The core cast bringing this story to life are:
- Bridgette Barfield
- Camille Rhodes
- Satta Murray
- Sofia Siena
These four women carry the emotional weight of a film that asks a lot of its performers in a very tight window. There's also a male lead playing the priest antagonist, though his name isn't specified in the promotional materials.
The DIY Spirit Behind Prurience Executed's 2026 Festival Run
Prurience Executed is a 2026 production from Blank Valley Film, and it's about as independent as it gets. Matthew Ragsdale didn't just direct; he also wrote and shot the entire film himself. That's a truly singular creative vision, giving the whole project a raw, handmade feel that big studios often try to emulate (and often fail at).
Ragsdale pushed the film heavily on social media before its release. According to the film's official trailer and announcement materials on YouTube, the focus was always on practical effects, sharp visuals, and a pace that just doesn't let you breathe. The world premiere was a festival event — promoted on Instagram as happening "this Saturday" at what looks like a screening connected to the Long Beach Underground Film Festival circuit. That's precisely the kind of grassroots launch that suits a film like this. No wide theatrical run, no studio machinery. Just the film, an audience, and a filmmaker with something to say. Ragsdale even handles self-release directly through his own Etsy and Ko-fi storefronts. Talk about independent.
As of today, there aren't any documented scores on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, or Letterboxd, nor have major-press reviews surfaced. Hard to say if that's because the film is too new, too niche, or simply hasn't hit mainstream critics' radars yet — probably a mix of all three. There's also no reported MPAA rating or box-office data.
Does Prurience Executed Deliver? A Look at Its Strengths (and Who It's For)
The thing nobody mentions enough about short horror is how unforgiving the format actually is. You don't get ninety minutes to build dread or develop character. You get twelve, and every scene either earns its place or it doesn't. What's striking about Prurience Executed is how instinctively Ragsdale seems to understand this. The film doesn't try to be a feature squashed into a short; it's built from the ground up around a single, escalating confrontation.
The priest's journey — obsession turning to violence, arousal to hatred — is exactly the kind of psychological territory folk horror has always explored. That space where religious repression and bodily shame collide to produce something monstrous. I keep coming back to the tradition the film is working in: the corrupted holy man, the pagan feminine, the clash between rigid institutional morality and older, earthier power. Ragsdale isn't reinventing the wheel here, but he's spinning it with genuine conviction.
The four lead performances are reportedly a highlight, and that's huge. This film lives or dies on whether you believe in these women's fear and then their agency. The practical effects, which the filmmaker specifically highlighted in promotional materials as a point of pride, suggest a commitment to tactile, physical horror over digital shortcuts. That choice alone puts Prurience Executed in a specific, respectable corner of the genre.
This isn't for everyone. Twelve minutes of folk horror centered on sexual obsession, violence, and pagan ritual is a very specific proposition, and Ragsdale isn't softening any of it. But for viewers who gravitate toward short-form horror with real craft behind it — thoughtful themes, compelling performances, and a commitment to practical effects — this is precisely the kind of film worth tracking down. It's a lean, purposeful piece of work from a filmmaker who clearly knows what he wants to say and doesn't waste your time saying it. Movie OTT tracks short-form horror alongside features exactly because films like this one often get lost in the shuffle of algorithmic recommendations, and that would be a genuine shame here. If you liked films that blend psychological tension with pagan ritual, like The Wicker Man or Midsommar, but want it in a distilled, punchy format, give this a shot.
Quick Answers: Prurience Executed FAQ
Q: Who directed Prurience Executed?
Prurience Executed was written, directed, and shot by Matthew Ragsdale under his Blank Valley Film banner. It's a solo creative effort.
Q: How long is Prurience Executed?
The film has a runtime of 12 minutes.
Q: Is Prurience Executed based on a true story?
No, it's an original work of fiction drawing on witch and folk-horror archetypes, not real events.
Q: Where can I watch Prurience Executed?
It's available on major OTT services. Check the Movie OTT widget at the top of this page for up-to-date platform listings.