Two exhausted college students take stimulants during an all-night study session, but as hallucinations blur into reality and paranoia turns violent, each becomes convinced the other is trying to kill them — or that something else in the apartment is.

SYNOPSIS:

"All Nighter Last Nighter" is a psychological horror/thriller short film set in one apartment over the course of one night.

Ben and Jayce, two stressed college students, are cramming for a major project due the next morning — the assignment that determines whether they graduate. Their apartment is a chaotic reflection of their mental state: empty energy drink cans, stacks of paper, bottles of vodka, curtains drawn tight to block out the morning light.

Ben, impulsive and unfocused, wants a break. Jayce, anxious and high-strung, reminds him that they can’t afford to fail. Soon, Ben has a 'solution' - a baggie of unmarked pills. Jayce reluctantly agrees, taking one pill; Ben secretly swallows two.

The substances kick in fast.

Ben’s energy becomes scattered and volatile, Jayce grows paranoid and hypersensitive. A small moment — Jayce thinking Ben lied about offering him a cigarette — hints that their perceptions are already distorting.

When Ben goes to splash water on his face, he sees a faceless figure in the mirror. In shock, he slips and slams his head on the sink. Moments later, Jayce sees an impossibly tall, horned man who silently gestures for him to kill. Neither of them knows that the other hallucinated anything.

Trying to refocus, they sit in front of the TV, increasingly irritable. Jayce becomes fixated on a Swiss Army knife on the table. Ben begins hearing whispers — Jayce’s voice — threatening to kill him.

Ben snaps.

Believing Jayce wants him dead, he arms himself with the Swiss Army knife. Jayce, terrified and bleeding from a cut Ben gives him, arms himself with a much larger kitchen knife. Their friendly bickering is gone — replaced by accusation, panic, and survival instinct.

The hallucinations escalate. The faceless figure taunts Ben. The horned man encourages Jayce to attack. The boys are no longer fighting each other . They’re fighting what they think the other has become.

Jayce raises the knife above Ben, ready to finish him...

DING DONG. The front doorbell rings.

Classmate MARIA bursts in, cheerful and oblivious, announcing that they’re going to be late for class. Sunlight floods the room, revealing two boys standing in a wrecked apartment, shaking, one bleeding, both staring at each other in disbelief.

Ben helps Jayce to his feet. They walk off into the light: "Come on dude, we can’t miss class."

ALL NIGHTER LAST NIGHTER