Scars and Splinters (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Scars and Splinters is a 2026 drama-horror short about a young woman struggling to survive a mysterious botanical infection. With a nine-minute runtime, the film places body horror alongside themes of identity, depression, mental health and self-love, written and directed by Shawn Nova.

Scars and Splinters is a 2026 drama-horror short centered on a young woman facing a mysterious botanical infection. Its brief nine-minute runtime gives the premise a tightly contained frame, while the listed themes point toward a story connected to identity, mental health and survival.

Written and directed by Shawn Nova, the English-language film comes from Long Way Down Films. The cast includes Elina Salehpour as Her, Merlot Valentine as Pup and Nova as Man.

Scars and Splinters movie details

Story without spoilers

The film follows a young woman fighting to stay alive as a strange botanical infection takes hold. The supplied themes include depression, identity, mental health, self-love and suicidal thoughts, placing the survival premise alongside an internal emotional struggle. Body horror is also part of the film’s classification and subject matter.

What to expect

Scars and Splinters combines drama with horror, using a mysterious plant-based infection as its central threat. Viewers can expect a concise story shaped around survival and body horror, with mental-health-related themes involving identity, depression, self-love and suicidal thoughts. At nine minutes, it is structured as a short-form film rather than a feature-length narrative.

Cast and creative team

Elina Salehpour leads the cast as Her. Merlot Valentine plays Pup, while Shawn Nova appears as Man. Nova also wrote and directed the film, giving the project a single credited creative lead across its screenplay and direction.

• Elina Salehpour as Her
• Merlot Valentine as Pup
• Shawn Nova as Man

Release and production context

Scars and Splinters is listed as released on October 16, 2026, with a 2026 release year. It has a runtime of nine minutes and is presented in English. The production company is Long Way Down Films. No country of production is supplied.

Production companies: Long Way Down Films

Reported production figures:
Budget $300

Movies Dock view

With its compact runtime and blend of drama, horror and body-horror elements, Scars and Splinters presents a focused survival premise connected to mental-health themes. Its story, cast and creative credits suggest a short film built around one central threat and a personal struggle.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb