Panorama and Midnight X-Treme take straight aim at the nerve center of the fantastic genre fandom

The Sitges Film Festival is gearing up to immerse its moviegoers in a whirlwind of extreme emotions: heart-stopping nights, supernatural terrors, impossible creatures, and new genre perspectives that defy all boundaries. With the Midnight X-Treme and Panorama sections as the epicenter of the most radical horror and the most diverse fantastic genre, this 58th edition promises to be a must-attend event for all those fans who are on the lookout for adrenaline, innovation, and the pleasure of letting themselves be swept away by their darkest side. 

Ángel Sala and Mònica Garcia i Massagué, the Festival's Artistic Director and the Foundation's General Manager, respectively, have just announced the productions that will be setting Sitges abuzz in the following sections: Panorama, which brings together offerings that go straight to the heart of the most demanding fantastic genre fans, and Midnight X-Treme, featuring radical options that will fill the midnight screenings with intense emotions. Two sections that, together with the previously announced Noves Visions and Anima't, will delight Fantastic genre fans at the 2025 edition, which will be held from October 9 to 19.

Panorama: Shelby Oaks by Chris Stuckmann, Will Initiate a Journey Into the Heart of an Ever-Expanding Genre 

Like every year, the Panorama section is an in-depth look at the state of the fantastic genre today. Among the section's essential pillars are supernatural and dark rituals, teen horror, survival in hostile spaces, folklore, and the reinterpretation of myths. This year, the section's opening screening will feature Shelby Oaks, a film produced by Mike Flanagan that blends traditional fiction with found footage, set against a backdrop of urban legends and a certain creepypasta tone. Also following in the same vein is Man Finds Tape by Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall, the story of two siblings who discover what lies behind some rather bizarre video clips, in one of the big sensations at the most recent Tribeca Film Festival, produced by classic Festival regulars, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson and David Lawson, who are also behind another paranormal offering, Descendent by Peter Cilella, where a Los Angeles school security guard, scarred by a family tragedy, experiences strange visions after seeing a mysterious light. Veering towards religious horror, we have Blood Shine by Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks, where a religious zealot kidnaps a young filmmaker and promises him that her sadistic rituals will change him into a god. In more allegorical terrain, the refreshing Bagworm by Oliver Bernsen centers its story around a sexually frustrated hammer salesman who steps on a rusty nail and struggles to determine whether the fact that the world is turning against him is real or the result of an infection consuming both his body and his mind. 

Japanese cinema will have a strong representation in the Panorama section, starting with the Japanese film Dollhouse by Shinobu Yaguchi, which reveals how the life of a happily married couple is destroyed when their five-year-old daughter dies. However, the mother finds a doll at a flea market that is identical to her deceased daughter and buys it... only to discover that it will exhibit disturbing signs of life. Meanwhile, The Curse by Ken'ichi Ugana (one of the most interesting directors among the new wave of Japanese filmmakers specializing in the fantastic genre) follows Riko, a beauty salon receptionist who lives a quiet life in the city, sharing an apartment with her friend Airi. One day, Riko notices eerie changes in the social media posts of her Taiwanese friend Shufen, who starts uploading cryptic videos. Around the same time, a disfigured corpse washes ashore in Taiwan. If Ugana renews the stereotypes of J-horror, so does Mag Mag, and from a female perspective like that of Yuriyan Retriever, a new director who now emerges to make a powerful impact on the Japanese horror scene, delving into the revenge story of a woman whose partner is murdered by the ghost that gives the film its title, and who will soon discover the true identity of the person she must take revenge on. Also from Japan comes one of the most radical productions in this section, Taroman Expo Explosion, a film based on the TV series with the same name by Ryo Fujii (who is also the director of the film), which in turn is inspired by the Tokusatsu shows from the 1970s and the works of Japanese artist Taro Okamoto. The film, a combination of battles against kaijus and educational elements concerning art, nostalgia, and surrealism, promises to leave its mark on Sitges. 

One of the big themes in contemporary horror is the central role of the family as a source or magnet attracting evil forces. Panorama will feature examples of this with films like The Surrender by Julia Max, which tells the story of how, when a family's patriarch dies, a mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a resurrection ritual and bring him back from the dead. Another type of ritual, also related to death, will take center stage in Mother of Flies by John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser, a true family of fantastique creators who return to Sitges after triumphing at the Fantasia Film Festival with a story about a woman who is diagnosed with a terminal diseases and receives a cure from a witch in the forest... But as we all know, all magical solutions come with their own cost.

From Sundance and starring Dev Patel, Rabbit Trap by Bryn Chainey transports its London-based married couple protagonists to a country house where, while recording a music album, they begin to hear a mystical sound that gradually causes them to disconnect from reality. From the United Arab Emirates comes The Vile by Majid Al Ansari, where a woman changes radically when her husband brings home a second wife, unleashing mysterious dark forces into their home. Also exploring another father-child relationship, My Daughter is a Zombie, by Pil Gam-sung, follows a single father who does everything he can to protect his daughter when she is bitten by one of the undead, in one of South Korea's summer phenomena. Meanwhile, No dejes a los niños solos (aka Don’t Leave the Kids Alone) by Emilio Portes features a young widow who moves into a new house with her two children; the night she has to leave them alone turns into a terrifying, claustrophobic experience. 

In the teen horror and coming-of-age genre, we find 13 Days Till Summer by Bartosz M. Kowalski, which brings together a group of carefree teenagers partying during the final days of school in a smart house on the outskirts of town. All of a sudden, the doors lock and the windows close when someone suddenly activates “hunt mode.” Meanwhile, Slanted by Amy Wang offers more of a body horror angle, telling the story of an insecure Chinese-American teenager who undergoes experimental surgery to look white and secure the title of prom queen, as well as the acceptance of her peers. In It Ends by Alex Ullom, a group of friends who go out on a late night food run find themselves trapped inside their jeep. From there, they must decide whether to accept their fate or try to escape, facing an environment teeming with supernatural threats, in one of the films that thrilled audiences at the most recent SXSW. 

The most instinctive filmmaking is always present in Sitges, and this year is no exception. The struggle for survival is one of the universal themes that work the best, and in Panorama, there are several productions that will keep both the protagonists of the films and moviegoers fighting for survival. One of them is Delivery Run by Joey Palmroos, which focuses on how a food delivery man is pursued by a completely crazed snowplow driver, in a sort of sub-zero version of Duel, directed by Steven Spielberg. Meanwhile, the highly acclaimed Hellcat by Brock Bodell follows a woman who wakes up in the back of a moving camper trailer with a badly infected wound and is told by a voice coming from the truck towing it that they have to get to a doctor in less than an hour or she will suffer a horrible fate.

Panorama will not be missing those films related to the reinterpretation of classics. One of the most obvious examples is Abraham's Boys by Natasha Kermani, which follows the character Abraham Van Helsing after Bram Stoker's novel. In this sequel-retelling, Van Helsing attempts to leave his past behind and moves to the United States with his sons, exploring childhood trauma through the eyes of a young Asian girl who is very familiar with death. A completely different approach to vampirism is offered by Love Kills, directed by Luiza Shelling Tubaldini, where a young vampire rediscovers her humanity through her bond with a naive human. A vision where vampirism reflects trauma, exclusion, and identity struggles. 

And we move from the classic legends of literature to mythology, in this case Indian mythology, with Bokshi by Bhargav Saikia, which follows a girl traumatized by the brutal disappearance of her mother and who, on an unconventional school trip to a mysterious prehistoric site, confronts her terrifying destiny. Marama by Taratoa Stappard, set in 1859 Victorian England, transports us to Māori Gothic horror in a story where a woman reclaims her identity within indigenous culture. Meanwhile, the previously announced Monster Island by Mike Wiluan, a co-production between Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, and the United Kingdom, brings together a Japanese soldier and a British prisoner of war in the midst of World War II, and the two of them will have to resolve their enmity in order to survive against a sea creature that threatens their lives. And to top it all off, Mermaid by Tyler Cornack, a thriller with touches of comedy, where a drug addict finds an injured mermaid who becomes his protégé, puts the finishing touch on creature features. 

Panorama won't be leaving out action related to elements that are characteristic of the fantastic genre. From Thailand, Halabala by Eakasit Thairaat focuses on a group of police officers searching for a brutal murderer in a forest that they soon realize holds a dark secret. Meanwhile, science fiction with aliens in the mix manifests itself in Osiris by William Kaufman, which follows a team of Special Forces commandos who wake up on a spaceship with no recollection of how they got there and are pursued by aliens. Panorama also welcomes one of this year's South Korean blockbusters: Hi Five by Kang Hyoung-chul, about five superheroes who gain powers after receiving transplants from a supernatural being, and battle against a supervillain cult leader who also received an organ from the same being.

Midnight X-Treme: the Perfect Bloodbath for Endless Nights 

The destruction of everyday life, the supernatural, and, above all, black comedy in horror are some of the main cornerstones of the Midnight X-Treme section. All of this comes together in Hold the Fort by William Bagley, a hilarious horror comedy about a couple who, after moving to the suburbs, find themselves caught up in a war between their neighbors and monsters from hell. Meanwhile, Fuck My Son! by Todd Rohal tells the story of the obsessive search of a desperate mother who drags another mother into a crazy odyssey that turns into a spiral of terror filled with mutant sex, repulsive monsters, and animated meat characters, all in the form of a deranged musical. The equally zany Flush by Grégory Morin focuses on the story of a loser who, after arguing with his ex-girlfriend at a club, gets trapped in the toilet with a heap of cocaine he stole from the bar's resident drug dealer. And in case these titles don't seem transgressive and radical enough, Karmadonna by Aleksandar Radivojevic, the story of a pregnant woman who receives divine orders to commit a string of murders, may be the film that winds up rivaling them to give meaning to that “extreme” label the section is known for.

Among echoes of movies from the eighties (and with one of its standard bearers in the cast: Joe Dante), The Creeps by Marko Mäkilaakso transports us to Finland, telling us the story of two young Americans who celebrate a party with some very wintry monsters (and Christopher Lambert) at a resort. In a more mystical realm, in addition to the previously announced Deathstalker by Steven Kostanki (a reboot of the 1983 classic), Ut Lan the Guardian Demon by Dan Trong Tran also makes a notable appearance. The film follows Lan, who, following the death of her father, moves to a rural village and becomes a domestic servant for a childless widower. There she will be faced with unsettling phenomena, mysterious deaths, and, with the help of a horror novelist, she will discover that the house hides terrifying secrets. Meanwhile, black magic makes its way through The Book of Sijjin and Illiyyin by Hadrah Daeng Ratu, where a woman casts a curse on a family and, as a result of the spell, its members experience a series of terrifying events in one of the horror-filled bloodbaths that will mark this year's Festival.

(Sub)culture has always addressed horror head on, and this is no exception in Sitges: Deathgasm II: Goremageddon by Jason Howden, the sequel to the 2015 film that was also screened in this same section, follows the story of Brodie, who this time resurrects his bandmates to win a battle of the bands and win back his girlfriend. Along the same lines is Queens of the Dead by Tina Romero, who will plunge us into a pitched battle between zombies and drag queens. Although if we're on the subject of confrontations, we have to mention Meat Kills by Martijn Smits, a subversive production that follows a group of animal rights activists who take on a farmer when he kills their pigs. 

List of Films 

Panorama 

13 Days Till Summer – Bartosz M. Kowalski (2025) 

Abraham’s Boys – Natasha Kermani (2025) 

Bagworm – Oliver Bernsen (2025) 

Blood Shine – Emily Bennett & Justin Brooks (2025) 

Bokshi – Bhargav Saikia (2025) 

Delivery Run – Joey Palmroos (2024) 

Descendent – Peter Cilella (2025) 

Dollhouse – Shinobu Yaguchi (2025) 

Halabala – Eakasit Thairaat (2025) 

Hellcat – Brock Bodell (2025) 

It Ends – Alex Ullom (2025) 

Love Kills – Luiza Shelling Tubaldini (2025) 

Mag Mag – Yuriyan Retriever (2025) 

Man Finds Tape – Paul Gandersman & Peter S. Hall (2025) 

Marama – Taratoa Stappard (2025) 

Mermaid – Tyler Cornack (2025) 

*Monster Island – Mike Wiluan (2024) 

Mother of Flies – John Adams, Zelda Adams & Toby Poser (2025) 

My Daughter is a Zombie – Pil Gam-sung (2025) 

No dejes a los niños solos – Emilio Portes (2025) 

Osiris – William Kaufman (2025) 

Rabbit Trap – Bryn Chainey (2025) 

Shelby Oaks- Chris Stuckmann (2025) 

Slanted – Amy Wang (2025) 

The Curse – Ken’ichi Ugana (2025) 

The Surrender – Julia Max (2025) 

The Vile – Majid Al Ansari (2025) 

Hi Five – Kang Hyoung-chul (2025) 

Taroman Expo Explosion – Ryo Fujii (2025) 

Midnight X-Treme 

Deathgasm II: Goremageddon – Jason Howden (2025) 

*Deathstalker – Steven Kostanski (2025) 

*Dolly – Rod Blackhurst (2025) 

Flush – Grégory Morin (2025) 

Fuck My Son! – Todd Rohal (2025) 

Hold The Fort – William Bagley (2025) 

Karmadonna – Aleksandar Radivojevic (2025) 

Meat Kills – Martijn Smits (2025) 

Queens of the Dead – Tina Romero (2025) 

The Book of Sijjin and Illiyyin – Hadrah Daeng Ratu (2025) 

The Creeps – Marko Mäkilaakso (2025) 

*Touch Me – Addison Heimann (2025) 

Ut Lan The Guardian Demon – Dan Trong Tran (2025) 

* Previously announced films