Final Transmissions: an analog-horror anthology featuring Sophia and Michael’s “You Were Never Alone”

Final Transmissions: three stories, one mysterious signal

Final Transmissions brings the first three episodes of the analog-horror and found-footage anthology series together as a 91-minute feature anthology—including “You Were Never Alone,” written and directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein.

Created by Steven Hugh Nelson and Erica Nelson, Final Transmissions is set in Eldritch, Illinois, in 1999. A local cable-access host begins airing strange and terrifying signals from unknown sources. Each episode tells its own found-footage story while revealing pieces of a larger mystery.

The feature brings together work directed by Steven Hugh Nelson, Michael J. Epstein, Sophia Cacciola, and Alex Hera. The project also features original artwork and creature designs from horror artist Trevor Henderson, creator of Siren Head.

Our contribution: “You Were Never Alone”

In “You Were Never Alone,” our story takes us away from Earth: in the command module orbiting the moon, Mike begins hearing something beneath the static. And it’s getting clearer…

We wrote and directed this episode as our contribution to the larger Final Transmissions mystery.

Explore Final Transmissions

You can find Final Transmissions on IMDb, Letterboxd, and FilmFreeway, and follow Final Transmissions on Instagram.

For more about the project, see coverage from Bloody Disgusting and Dread Central.

Screenings

• GenreBlast X — world premiere: Final Transmissions had its world premiere at GenreBlast X on Friday, September 4, 2026, at 6:15 PM, at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, Virginia. The program also included The Ringing, Brandon Scullion‘s body-horror short starring Michael, immediately before the feature. The festival ran September 3–6, 2026. See the festival schedule and ticket information page, or read Morbidly Beautiful’s preview, which highlighted Final Transmissions as one of the festival’s two world-premiere features.
• Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival: Final Transmissions also screened at Nightmare in the Ozarks. See the 2026 festival program and the photo below.
• UFF: Final Transmissions also screened at UFF.

Nightmare in the Ozarks

Final Transmissions brought its three interconnected analog-horror stories to Nightmare in the Ozarks, including our lunar episode, “You Were Never Alone.” The film also won the audience award at the fest!

For the festival’s film lineup, see the Nightmare in the Ozarks 2026 program.

From crowdfunding to the finished anthology

When we originally published this post in July 2025, Final Transmissions was still crowdfunding on Indiegogo. At the time, we were especially excited about an “Alien Voice” perk connected to “You Were Never Alone.”

The perk allowed participants to record voices to be woven into the noise and alien transmission in Final Transmissions. Those recordings were also connected to our plans for a separate feature adaptation of the story and an experimental documentary about the making of the projects and our fear of space, tentatively titled Static.

The original Indiegogo campaign remains part of the project’s history. Now, the first three episodes have been assembled into a feature anthology.