The Ash: Safe Haven (16:19)
Causeway Pictures; Dust; Facebook; IMDb; YouTube

This 2017 short film was presented by both Alter and Dust in 2019. I must have first seen it on Dust, but I didn't review it until re-watching it on Alter in 2022.

This is, I guess, a proof of concept short film for a proposed feature film called "The Ash". Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a volcano has erupted, spreading ash throughout the air. This has led to an outbreak of a disease. A 12-year-old boy named Zoran is left home alone when his mother, Nadia, gets called in to work. A neighbor named Mrs. O'Dea soon comes over to watch Zoran, but she turns out to be infected with the disease, which basically turns her into a zombie, so she tries to attack Zoran. He has to stay safe until his mother gets home. That's all I want to say about the plot, but it's a sad and tragic film. (I'm not sure how accurate it is to call people with the disease "zombies", but the term feels close enough. I might change my mind if I ever see the feature film, or I might not.)