The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
The full trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia (2025) is now available to watch. Based on the South Korean film Save the Green Planet! (Jigureul jikyeora!, 2003), Bugonia follows “two conspiracy obsessed young men (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis)” who “kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company (Emma Stone), convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.” Bugonia lands in U.S. theaters on October 24.
As spooky season is fast approaching, Shudder shared the official trailer for V/H/S/Halloween (2025). The horror anthology promises “twisted, blood-soaked tales” that turn “trick-or-treat into a struggle for survival.” Paco Plaza, Bryan M. Ferguson and Anna Zlokovic are among the V/H/S/Halloween directors. Fantastic Fest (September 18-25) is hosting the flick’s world premiere, ahead of its Shudder debut on October 3.
Theatre of Horrors: The Sordid Story of Paris’ Grand Guignol (2025) is a new documentary from Severin Films’ David Gregory. The doc tackles the “grisly history and pervasive legacy of the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol,” which “first welcomed audiences to witness its unflinchingly horrific and naturalistic stage plays in 1897.” Theatre of Horrors is set to have its premiere on September 6 at the L’Étrange Festival. You can check out its trailer here.
Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025), sequel to Jalmari Helander’s Sisu (2022), has gotten a trailer, before its first public screening at the upcoming Fantastic Fest. This Finnish revenge actioner will eventually hit U.S. cinemas on November 21 (via Sony Pictures).
Synopsis: “Returning to the house where his family was brutally murdered during the war, “the man who refuses to die” (Jorma Tommila) dismantles it, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army commander who killed his family (Stephen Lang) comes back hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless, eye-popping cross-country chase ensues – a fight to the death, full of clever, unbelievable action set pieces.”
Shudder released the trailer and poster for Brandon Christensen’s horror movie Night of the Reaper (2025), which just won the Scariest Feature Film Prize at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival. Night of the Reaper starts streaming on Shudder on September 19.
Synopsis: “In the heart of a quiet, 1980s suburb, college student Deena returns home and reluctantly takes on a last-minute babysitting job. That same night, the local sheriff receives a cryptic package that pulls him into a sinister scavenger hunt that sets off a game of cat and mouse with a dangerous killer. As the clues unravel, Deena finds herself ensnared in a nightmarish mystery that she may not survive.”
Bleecker Street unveiled the trailer for Fantastic Fest selection Bone Lake (2024), a “darkly hilarious and seductive horror story.” Bone Lake opens in U.S. theaters on October 3.
Synopsis: “A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. A dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.”
Festivals
Genre movies like Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story (2025), Mermaid (2025), Mother of Flies (2025), Shelby Oaks (2024), and Hi Five (Haipaibeu, 2025) are part of Sitges’ Panorama section, while the Midnight X-Treme section includes Flush (2025), Meat Kills (Vleesdag, 2025), Queens of the Dead (2025), and The Creeps (2025). The 2025 edition of the Sitges Film Festival will take place from October 9 to 19.