By Eric Ortiz
The Fantastic Pavilion presents a Weekly Recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
Festivals
Fantastic Fest unveiled the program for its upcoming 21st edition, to be celebrated in Austin, Texas from September 17 to 24. Some of the highlights are: Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil (Gala Screening), Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Feast (4K Restoration), Quentin Dupieux’s Full Phil (New Cut) and Vertiginous (U.S. Premiere), Joko Anwar’s Ghost in the Cell (North American Premiere), and John McNaughton’s Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (in 35mm).
Another genre festival that just revealed its 2026 titles is MOTELX – Lisbon International Horror Film Festival (September 3-13). Andrea Corsini’s Ferine (2025), Nikias Chryssos’ Bloody Tennis (2026), Na Hong-jin’s Hope (2026), and Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony (2026) are among the most attractive ones.
Nicolas Winding Refn is attending the Slash Film Festival (September 23-October 4 in Vienna) to present his first feature film in a decade: Her Private Hell (2026). You Are the Film (2026), Hokum (2026) and Sanguine (2026) are other movies set to screen at the festival.
Grimmfest’s 2026 lineup includes Hammer’s horror period piece Ithaqua (2026), the “Cypriot folk horror” Motherwitch (2026), the creature feature Crawlers (2026), and Sicko (2025). The 18th edition of Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Film is taking place from October 8 to 11.
News
The Japanese supernatural horror flick Never After Dark (2026) hits U.S. cinemas on September 25 (trailer here). In it Moeka Hoshi plays Airi, “a wandering medium who spends her life guiding restless spirits out of the world of the living. Summoned to an isolated country house, she comes face to face with a grotesque apparition with powers that defy Airi’s experience.”
Home video
Ruggero Deodato’s controversial horror picture Cannibal Holocaust (1980) is finally debuting on 4K UHD! Grindhouse Releasing is putting out a six-disc box set in October; pre-orders are available now.