Insecta (Uruguay, 2026)
Official synopsis
A horror writer returns to an isolated estate to say goodbye to her dying father, only to suspect that the monstrous insect she imagined as a child may have been real all along.
Review
With Insecta, director Martín Florio crafts a highly entertaining chiller that combines creature feature and gothic horror elements, with engaging family drama for good measure. Renowned horror writer Mercedes (Mayra Hermosillo) returns to her childhood home to visit her estranged elderly father Jaime (Luis Felipe Tovar), who is close to death. He has been taken care of as of late by Mercedes’ stepsister Belen (Rocío De La Mañana), who alternates between seeming pleased and unwelcoming about Mercedes’ presence. Mercedes has nightmares about a traumatic incident from her childhood about her brother’s death and about an oversized insect that haunted him, along with sexual fantasies about Belen. Much intrigue ensues, and Florio, working from a screenplay that he cowrote with Leonel D’Agostino and Andrea Gobera, escalates the tension and terror masterfully. Hermosillo and De La Mañana display excellent chemistry as the stepsisters with different agendas regarding Jaime, and the third act delivers edge-of-the-seat thrills. Insecta comes highly recommended.
Bonded (Argentina, 2026)
Official synopsis
When two sisters return to their childhood home following the untimely deaths of their elderly parents, they are forced to confront disturbing truths hidden within the house’s walls. As their past resurfaces, reality begins to warp, threatening to shatter their sanity.
Review
Two estranged sisters return to their childhood home and discover the disturbing reason they were separated when young in director John Mathis’s occult shocker Bonded. The sibling rivalry is strong, as Dana (Bianca Mitnik), the younger of the two women, is resentful of slightly older sister Luján (Clara Kovacic), who moved to America and has a husband and child while Dana toils in Argentina at a thankless job. Mathis, who cowrote the screenplay with Emila Cotella, unravels the family’s diabolical past through a collection of old videotapes, and naturally for a fright-fare film, the past is more than willing to catch up with the now-adult sisters. Bonded boasts a truly eerie atmosphere including a creepy wooden figure and possession horror elements. Mitnik and Kovacic give super lead performances, and Mathis helms the film with aplomb. Aficionados of occult horror and foreign fear fare are certain to find plenty to enjoy with this suspenseful outing and its riveting third act.
Insecta and Bonded screened as part of Screamfest, which runs October 6–15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
