The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
Festivals
The Mexico City-based Mórbido Fest has unveiled the devilish poster for its upcoming 2025 edition, set to take place from October 29 to November 9. Mórbido’s lineup includes the animal attack flick Primate (2025), the Frankenstein riff Dead Lover (2025), the horror movie Dolly (2025), the Eli Roth-produced Dream Eater (2025), Can Evrenol’s remake The Turkish Coffee Table (Cam Sehpa, 2025), the sci-fi anime All You Need Is Kill (2025), the heavy metal horror comedy Deathgasm 2: Goremageddon (2025), and the documentaries Theatre of Horrors: The Sordid Story of Paris’ Grand Guignol (2025) and A Serbian Documentary (2025).
The prestigious Méliès d’or for Best European Feature Film went to Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab’s Mr. K (2024), described by the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) as a “Kafkaesque tale about the absurdity of life.” On the other hand, Mats Udd’s “ghost story” Don’t Be Afraid (Du behöver inte vara rädd, 2024) was given the Méliès d’or for Best European Short Film. The awards ceremony was hosted by the Sitges Film Festival (October 9-19).
Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister got the award for Best Feature Film at the 58th Sitges. The South Korean master Park Chan-wook earned the Best Direction prize for No Other Choice (Eojjeolsuga eobsda, 2025). Both The Life of Chuck (2024) and Reflection in a Dead Diamond (Reflet dans un diamant mort, 2025) won the José Luis Guarner Critics’ Award for Best Film. Curry Barker’s Obsession (2025) received three awards: the Special Jury Award, the Carnet Jove Jury Award, and the Grand People’s Choice Award.
News
The 2025 edition of Fangoria’s Chainsaw Awards was held on Sunday, October 19. Ryan Coogler’s vampire period piece Sinners (2025) was named Best Wide Release; additionally, Coogler took home the Best Director and Best Screenplay awards, while Ludwig Göransson won for Best Score. The list of winners also includes: The Substance (Best Lead Performance – Demi Moore –, Best Makeup FX, Best Creature FX), Azrael (Best Limited Release), Oddity (Best International Movie), The Ugly Stepsister (Best First Feature), George A. Romero’s Resident Evil (Best Documentary Feature), and Terrifier 3 (Best Kill – The Shower Kill –).
To accompany the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025) – which is currently playing in select theaters –, Insight Editions has presented a book about the “art and making of” the horror picture. Aside of a foreword by del Toro himself, Sheila O’Malley’s hardcover offers “storyboards, concept art, behind-the-scenes photography, and film stills.” It’ll hit the shelves on October 28.
Speaking of del Toro’s Frankenstein, there’s a beautiful brand-new poster for its run in IMAX. It was created by James Jean, who also did artwork for The Shape of Water (2017) and Pinocchio (2022).
Vinegar Syndrome shared the trailer for Anything That Moves (2025), the second film from director Alex Phillips (All Jacked Up and Full of Worms). After screening at Fantasia and Sitges, this 16mm “giallo-inspired thriller” is heading to home video in 2026.
Synopsis: “Set in the sticky corridors of Chicago, this rust belt murder mystery follows Liam, who, along with his girlfriend, works as a bike messenger, delivering business and pleasure to his lust-hungry clients. When a serial killer begins targeting those closest to him, Liam becomes determined to clear his name, only to discover that the trail of blood leads back to his own bed.”