Official synopsis
Eighteen-year-old Trina plans to escape her toxic mother, but the arrival of mysterious relatives from Kashubia disrupts her plans. The unexpected guests bring long-buried family secrets to light and force Trina to confront her dark legacy, introducing her to unsettling rituals rooted in old Kashubian folklore.
Review
Director Marta Giec crafts not just one of the best folk horror films of the year, but one of the best fright-fare offerings overall with Òpi (Poland, 2026). This supernatural shocker blends a coming-of-age story with strong family drama and occult wildness galore. Krystyna (Wiktoria Kruszczynska in an amazing performance) is living a put-upon life courtesy of her domineering Catholic mother Urszula (Gabriela Muskala), who treats the young woman poorly, including forcing her to destroy her art, which is very much on the darker side of things. Just as Krstyna — who also goes by Trina, which her mother despises — is set to run away from her home in Poland to Germany with her best friend, her Aunt Helena (Magdalena Boczarska) arrives unexpectedly with the ailing, wheelchair-bound, elderly matriarch of the family Regina (Iwona Bielska).
Familial curses or perhaps hereditary mental illness comes into strong play, and in either case, the proceedings lead to a mind-blowing third act. Giec, who cowrote the screenplay with Dominika Kloczewiak, offers up both a highly sympathetic protagonist in Krystyna and an easy-to-dislike antagonist in Urszula, and Helena adds an air of mystery to the strained family dynamic. All four women give an acting clinic in their roles, which is reason enough to recommend Òpi — but there is so much more, too. The film has sealed a spot on my list of 10 best horror films of the year, and comes strongly recommended to all fear-fare devotees, especially those interested in foreign, folk, and occult chillers.
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Opi screened as part of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, which ran October 15–22, 2026. Raven Banner Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to the film.
