By Eric Ortiz
The Fantastic Pavilion presents a Weekly Recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
You can check out now the intense trailer for Joshua Giuliano’s River (2026), a slasher coming out in U.S. theaters on January 15 (via Universal Pictures and Blumhouse).
Synopsis: “River stars Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe and Max Mattern as estranged siblings who reunite in their rural hometown after the death of their father. As they set out to scatter his ashes at his favorite spot on a remote river, the trip devolves into a fight for survival as they are mercilessly hunted by a disturbing masked figure played by Dane DiLiegro.”
IFC and Shudder unveiled a new teaser poster for In a Violent Nature 2 (2026), another slasher hitting cinemas in early 2027 (on February 12 to be precise). In this sequel “Johnny’s violent rampage leads him to a summer camp just as a young, outcast camper is forced to spend the night with his counselor sister and her friends at their annual end-of-season party.”
Tickets are still available for Quentin Tarantino’s first play The Popinjay Cavalier, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as “Rupert Sebastian Thomas Jr., the world’s greatest actor, as he heads to Paris to perform for the illustrious Comédie-Française. But after a few ill-advised words about the French land him in hot water, Rupert the Magnificent’s triumphant trip across the Channel takes a decidedly more dangerous turn.”
Tarantino’s “swashbuckling comedy” runs at London’s Phoenix Theater from February 23 to June 13.
Judging by its trailer, THUNDERLIPS’ Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant (2026) looks like a fun flick about a young woman who has to deal with an extraordinary alien pregnancy. It debuts on VOD on October 27.
Logline: “When a messy millennial underachiever accidentally gets alien-pregnant, she must overcome sceptical doctors, a useless baby-daddy, and her oversharing mum in order to survive and reclaim her life.”
Trauma or, Monsters All (2026), Larry Fessenden’s latest movie, brings together “the vampire, Frankenstein’s monster, and the werewolf from Habit (1995), Depraved (2019), and Blackout (2023).” It’ll play at the IFC Center in New York City from November 4, before its VOD release on November 24 (trailer here).
Synopsis: “Visiting writer Cassandra (Laëtitia Hollard) arrives in the quiet upstate town of Talbot Falls to research a book on George Washington Carver while working at the local library alongside her new friend Agnes (Aitana Doyle). After Cassandra publishes an article exposing the town’s unsettling past, buried secrets begin to surface as a werewolf, vampire, and Frankenstein creation emerge from the shadows, forcing the community to confront generations of fear, guilt, and suppressed trauma.”
Festivals
Marion Le Coroller’s Sanguine (2026) was named Best Feature Film at the 2026 Sitges Film Festival (October 8-18), while Joko Anwar won the Best Direction in the SOFC Award for Ghost in the Cell (2026) – which also got the Carnet Jove Jury Award –.
Other Sitges winners were Buddy (Best Screenplay in the SOFC), River (Best Music in the SOFC), Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern (Best Sitges Documenta Film), and Wildwood (Grand People’s Choice Award for Best Feature film in the SOFC).