The mysterious Pacific Northwest plays a pivotal role in Evan Gorski’s short “Paralian,” which is a murky and ambiguous creature short that simultaneously captures personal tragedy, vengeance and local lore. It features Mike Markoff (Hit Man), Tom Jenkins (Oppenheimer) and Sofia Dailey. Without giving too much away, another pivotal role in “Paralian” concerns a fantastic creature, developed by Josef Rarach and Vlad Taupesh at FX Creator.
The 15-minute film, which premiered at Panic Fest last year, and also played at Atlanta Horror Film Festival, FilmQuest, HorrOrigins, and Popcorn Frights, among others, is available now to stream on YouTube.
MovieMaker: Can you tell us about your inspiration?
Evan Gorski: There’s something inherently haunting about the Pacific Northwest in winter. Like an eerie secret. When my director of photography and creative collaborator Michael Babyak and I took our first trip there, its atmosphere left a lasting imprint on us. We knew this had to be the setting for our next film.
MovieMaker: The atmosphere is definitely instrumental to the film. It reminds me of The Fog or The Creature from the Black Lagoon at times.
Evan Gorski: I’ve always been drawn to non-verbal storytelling, where atmosphere and performance do the heavy lifting instead of dialogue. There’s something powerful about letting the audience feel their way through a story rather than being told how to interpret it.
That, combined with my love for cosmic horror (particularly H.P. Lovecraft) shaped this film’s DNA. As an avid scuba diver, I know firsthand how the ocean is the perfect breeding ground for the strange and terrifying.
MovieMaker: What do you want the audience to take away from the movie?
Evan Gorski: At its core, “Paralian” is a cautionary tale about how far one will go for the people they love. But this isn’t a story with clear-cut answers. Unlike traditional man vs. monster narratives, where the evil is vanquished and the survivors ride off into the sunset, this film leans into ambiguity. An eerie, lingering uncertainty that’s both unsettling and hypnotic, much like the Pacific Northwest itself.
“Paralian” is available now on YouTube.