A hungry bear tests the relationship of two campers.

Andrew Laurich’s latest short film, A Bear in the Woods, takes a humorous yet suspenseful turn as two campers face an unexpected challenge—a hungry bear. Starring Mimi Michaels and Will Ropp, this film blends romance, comedy, and tension, testing not only the campers’ survival skills but also the strength of their relationship.

Known for its witty dialogue and clever twists, A Bear in the Woods delivers both laughs and heartwarming moments as the characters navigate fear, love, and absurdity in the wild. Laurich continues his streak of sharp, engaging storytelling, following up on his previously acclaimed work, A Reasonable Request.

The film takes a suspenseful situation, a bear encounter, and turns it into something comedic and romantic. How did you come up with this unusual combination of elements?

Truthfully, I was trying to bridge the gap between my prior short film work, which is decidedly comedic, and a feature I have in development, which is more genre. I’ve also always been fascinated by films like FORCE MAJEUR where external trauma forces two people to re-examine their relationship.

The tension between fear and humor is strong throughout the film. How did you balance creating suspense while still keeping the comedic tone alive?

This was perhaps the biggest challenge and greatest source of anxiety for me as director — balancing those tones. I think the anchor is in the performances, though. I felt that if I could keep those grounded and realistic, then the viewer would be with the characters even as the tone shifted. I also think there’s a lot of humor to mine, generally, from scary situations.

What was the process like for directing the actors in scenes where they had to convey both fear of the bear and tension in their relationship?

I think it’s maybe less about balancing a duality of bear and relationship, and more about a singular focus on survival —which initially gets in the way of their relationship.

How did you use the natural surroundings to heighten both the suspense and romance?

I wanted a location where the woods felt endlessly deep, like the bear could come from anywhere. I think that helped with the suspense. I also think there’s something to darkness and shadows and that have a way of drawing attention to the murkiness of their relationship. And then, quite literally, we shine a light on it.

Comedy often comes from unexpected moments. Were there any scenes or lines that ended up being improvised or spontaneous?

Everything stuck pretty tight to the script, actually, but there were certainly a few unexpected moments of humor. Mark tripping as he goes for the bag and then rising into frame with his hat covering his face comes to mind — that was a happy accident.

What was the most challenging part of filming a suspenseful comedy in an outdoor setting?

The toughest things were the weather and the flashlight. Filming in early December, temperatures plummeted into the low 40’s / high 30’s — even though we were in southern California. And I didn’t consider flashlight continuity as much as I should have. It tends to pan across Mark quite a bit which proved challenging in the edit.

How did you approach the bear scenes—both in terms of creating tension and managing the technical or practical challenges?

Having almost zero budget, I knew I’d have to lean on sound design to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Lindsey, who did the sound design, did an amazing job at keeping both the characters’ and audience’s heads on a swivel. Visually, I pulled stock footage from sites like Pond 5 of bears in various positions, and then had two VFX wizard friends — Anita and Chris — roto out the bears and put them into the environment of the short.

The film’s tone shifts between lighthearted moments and genuine suspense. How did you work with your team to maintain the right balance throughout?

It took a lot of play in the edit to make sure there was the right balance — that we weren’t servicing one tone more heavily than the other. But again, I think keeping performances consistent and grounded helped to make sure the balance felt natural.

As a filmmaker, are there any books, podcasts or YouTube Channels that you would recommend for young filmmakers?

Great question… books-wise, I’m a big fan of THE WAR OF ART — which will help give you a kick in the ass. I also love REBELS ON THE BACKLOT as a film nerd. THE BIG PICTURE and SCRIPT NOTES are two podcasts I’d recommend. And Tony Zhou’s EVERY FRAME A PAINTING is some of the best video essays on cinematic technique I’ve come across.

What are the short films that you admire the most?

I tend to love short films that are more contained and tend to focus on a single dilemma. CURVE is a great one — the existential dread is terrifying. BUGCRUSH is another big inspiration — how Carter Smith maintains the tension so well. PIXAR, much like they do with their feature-length films, have seemed to master the art of the short.