Our Effed Up World Review [MIFF 2026]

As with all of Alice Maio Mackay’s films, the heart of this lies in the character relationships

In a combination of a dark episode of Doctor Who and Clerks sits Our Effed Up World. Somehow, the eighth film from Alice Maio Mackay, at just twenty-one.

Sheri (Sara Thompson) spends her time hanging out with friends, smoking, and watching obscure horror films, not at work. Finn (Jess McLeod) runs a video store, and Sheri visits with best friend Poppy (Annapurna Sriram), seemingly daily. Yes, a video rental store! They appear to have only one customer (Alexei Toliopoulos), but still, I am elated to see a video rental store in a movie in 2026.

Although her dad (Scott Major) spends most of his time devouring data on meteorites, he’s actually trying to watch out for any signs of alien activity. And when an odd creature does land in her town and begin nibbling and kidnapping friends, and hiding out in the video store, it’s up to Sheri and co to put an end to this creature.

The title of Our Effed Up World comes from a sort of revelation that feeding on humans isn’t as good as the creature may have thought. Oh no, turns out humans aren’t full of all the best types of energy. Who would have thought we have some bad vibes?

As with all of Alice Maio Mackay’s films, the heart of this lies in the character relationships. The horror elements and creature stuff are sort of just a wrapping for it all. And fortunately, the cast is great, and the chemistry and the chance to hear these characters interact with each other make for a great time—talking about film, relationships, family members, life—it’s all good. And when the film is at its best.

The monster design and its den design are a bit rough. It looks alright in the dark, but we’re getting very 90s Doctor Who vibes, whether that’s the idea or not, I’m not too sure.

At just over an hour, this is a tight little new film from Mackay, who continues to mix and twist on elements she’s done before and hone her craft.

[Dylan attended a screening thanks to the Melbourne International Film Festival]