Indie Spotlight: ‘Ruined’ Is An LGBT Hipster Ghost Story That Will Make You Appreciate Your Neighbors

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we shout out a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the attention-grabbing films and series you probably haven’t heard about. Read previous installments here.

Billed as an “LGBT hipster ghost story,” Ruined is a YouTube-first comedy web series that follows the residents (both living and dead) of a hospital-turned-apartment building in Hackney, East London.

Creator Lily Smith tells Tubefilter she made the series to “address my dual anxieties about the rise of neo-Nazism, and not being cool enough to live in Hackney.”

Six episodes have been released so far, with each episode running under 10 minutes. Ruined is for fans of clever, self-aware horror films like Patchwork and The Babysitter, with a good ol’ dose of British wit. It’s also apparent the series has an excellent production team, which includes Smith and co-director Sam Heasman

Smith also appears in the series,with fellow stars Chris Polick and Laurens Whittingham.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR FILMS AND SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Dead De La Crème. This free, hourlong film inspired by movies like My Dinner With Andre is about a polyamorous triad who think they’re living in a post-zombie apocalypse world — but their island is the only locale that has been affected.
• Like Animals. From the creator of the web series God Particles, this short film is making the rounds on the festival circuit, and is about three siblings struggling to move on after the death of their mother.

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