By Eric Ortiz
The Fantastic Pavilion presents a Weekly Recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
Festivals
You can watch now the trailer for Karim Ouelhaj’s Heat of Madness (2026), ahead of its Sitges world premiere on October 14. Heat of Madness is Ouelhaj’s first film since Megalomaniac (2022).
Synopsis: “On the verge of becoming a father, Scola (Olivier Picard) is hoping to make it big with one final heist… but when he’s betrayed by his accomplices, he becomes blinded by the obsession to recover his loot. Embarking on a vengeful quest that leads him into a supernatural world, Scola meets Petite Pomme (Julie Carroll), a mysterious figure who tries to open his eyes. Lost on a road trip that feels like purgatory, Scola has to decide whether to face reality or sink entirely into madness.”
Another flick heading to Sitges is Found Alive (2026), “the first English-language feature from Carlota Pereda (Piggy).” Found Alive stars Chloë Grace Moretz and is set to open the 59th Sitges on October 8.
Logline: “Ten years after escaping a sadistic captor as a teenager, Reeve LeClaire (Moretz) agrees to mentor a newly rescued survivor. When the girl’s story points to other missing victims, Reeve enters a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to find them before it’s too late.”
Gabriel Bernini’s throwback slasher Blood Barn (2025) will have its International Premiere at the Sitges Film Festival on October 17 (trailer here).
Full synopsis: “In the summer of 85, Josie, a camp counselor, gathers her six closest friends for a final weekend at her family’s secluded barn before they part ways for college. However, as buried secrets from her family’s past emerge, a malevolent spirit begins to possess each counselor, hell-bent on retribution for its disturbance. Josie must confront her family’s shrouded history to stop the bloodshed before sunrise… or become the next victim of the Blood Barn.”
News
An online celebrity gets “a really weird message” and feels her life is in danger in the horror movie The Influencer Project (2026), which was produced by Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale (The Blair Witch Project).
The Influencer Project is currently playing in U.S. theaters.
Synopsis: “Real-life content creator Chiara King goes to Copenhagen with a documentary crew promised an unfiltered look at the business of online fame. Her fans follow every move, and so does a stalker who keeps getting closer. Before long, the footage starts to look more like evidence.”
A24 released a bunch of cool Slayground (2026) promotional posters!
Jeremy Saulnier’s latest deals with “a haunted house with no exit.” More information to come.
Home video
Pre-orders are live for the 4K UHD of Vinegar Syndrome and Kurtis M. Spieler’s Night of the Vamp-Friars (2026). This fun horror picture was shot on 16mm.
Synopsis: “A group of friends in a punk rock band discover a hidden cemetery in the woods, where they accidentally raise a horde of undead friars.”