Simón and Raimundo Bucher’s “L4IK4,” Roberto’s San Sebastián’s “The Hostess” and Javier Attridge’s “Beneath the Flesh” weigh in as potential standouts at the 7th edition of the Sanfic Mórbido Lab, now a fixture on Latin America’s genre scene, part of Sanfic Industria, which runs Nov. 2-8 in Santiago de Chile.
In its totality, however, with five titles from Latin America and one from Spain, the 2026 Sanfic Mórbido Lab underscores the vitality and variety of the region’s genre, ranging from Cold War sci-fi (“L4IK4”) to extreme horror (“The Hostess”), Mapuche identity parable (“Beneath the Flesh), gay alien monster masculinity comedy (“Chupacu”), realist adult horror (“Spring Curse”) and a mix of folk horror and social observance (“Tonalli”).
If one common denominator runs through at least four of the titles, however, is their grounding in Latin American reality as its genre assumes the arthouse mantle of movies as a reflection of social malaise, whether blow-hard machismo, identity shame, AI or miracle faith culture.
“L4IK4” marks the first feature from Simón Bucher, a rising star of Chilean animation, creator of the eye-catching animated sequence in Chilean box office smash “Denominación de Origen”
“The Hostess” is the first feature for 10 years of San Sebastián and writer Guillermo Guerrero after the cult – and divisive – “The Night of the Virgin” (2016), hailed by Bloody Disgusting as “disgustingly unforgettable” and selected for the Fantasia and Mórbido .
In another return, “Beneath the Flesh” is written and directed Javier Attridge whose multi-prized Prime Video pick-up “Wekufe: the Origin of Evil” was praised by Ain’t It Cool News as a “smart and tension filled little found footager.”
Repping a second debut at Sanfic Mórbido Lab, “Chupacu” is inspired by the creepypasta legend of a gay alien monster
“Chupacu,” which literally means “ass-sucker.” It is written and directed by Brazilian-Argentine Antonia Baudouin and produced by Rodrigo Carneiro, a partner at Carneiro Verde Filmes and producer of Gustavo Vinagre’s “Three Tidy Tigers Tied a Tie Tighter” a Berlinale 2022 best feature Teddy Award winner.
Underscoring the potential quality of this year’s lineup, another Lab title, “Spring Curse,” reps the latest from Pablo Vergara, behind “Ojos verdes rojos malditos,” a Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre best director and screenplay winner in its Argentina competition.
The lineup also includes “Tonalli,” the latest from Jesus “Chiva” Rodríguez, whose 2015 drug-run nightmare “The Bosses” broke out as a cult item among fans, placing No. 8 among that year’s Top 10 movies at Mexico box office.
A close look at the titles:
“Beneath the Flesh,” (“Lo que duerme bajo la carne,” Javier Attridge, Panóptico Films, Chile)
Attridge’s follow-up to 2017’s “Wekufe,” returning to Chile’s south with a young Mapuche woman who hides her heritage behind an online sexual persona. In her homeland, something begins to grow beneath her skin each time she sacrifices a part of herself to belong. “I’m troubled by how shame can be passed down through generations,” Attridge tells Variety, calling the project “visceral psychosexual horror, where the violence of the past resurfaces beneath the skin.”
“Chupacu,” (Antonia Baudouin, Carneiro VerdeFilmes, Brazil)
The latest from Brazilian queer cinema powerhouse Carneiro Verde. At a testosterone-fueled barbecue held at a gaudy mansion in Brazil’s agribusiness heartland, a terrifying alien monster Chupacu assaults its ultra-macho revellers… one ass at a time – forcing the men to rethink masculine pleasure. A “very stylized gore horror-comedy about the straight man’s fear of anal pleasure,“ says Baudouin, writer of horror comedy “Furnas Fundas,” which opened last month in Brazilian cinemas.
“The Hostess,” (“La Anfitriona,” Roberto San Sebastián, Monndo,CSC Films, Plátanobolígrafo, Spain)
“‘The Hostess’ is a cruel, sophisticated and deeply disturbing exploration of our darkest human instinct: the need to inflict pain in order to feel alive. On others and on ourselves. A visceral and unforgettable cinematic experience that will leave no one untouched,” San Sebastián promises. Lead produced by Bizkaia-based genre/emerging talent producer Monndo with other Basque outfits CSC Films and Plátanobolígrafo.
“L4IK4,” (Simón Bucher, Raimundo Bucher, La Mazmorra Studio, Chile)
In an alternate Cold War universe, a dachshund is sent as an experiment to the first virtual world. Facing Earth’s doom, a scientist dives into the network to save her and transcend physical death through mutual love and loyalty. Described as a 3D, stop-motion and pixilation hybrid, produced by Santiago-based La Mazmorra Studio. Simón Bucher also co-directed a Vimeo Staff Pick, the grand guignol “The Feast,” a Universidad Católica graduation short selected for 2025’s Annecy Animation Festival.
“Spring Curse,” (“Maldición en primavera,” Pablo Vergara, Coruya Cine, Argentina)
From Vergara, also writer-director of the series “Cuentos para viernes por la noche. A young Uber driver and her uncle give a ride to a mysterious doll, after which they are pursued by an AI digital presence. “Realist adult horror, working classic genre elements, pictured with an aesthetic contaminated by daily life where I live,” says Vergara, based out of Argentina’s Córdoba.
“Tonalli,” (Jesus “Chiva” Rodriguez, Tirando Terror, Mexico)
The latest from Chiva, known for “The Bosses” and road movie “Metaflm.” A young trans punk in the hard-scrabble Mexico City neighborhood of Tepito appeals to Santa Muerte for her life to change. It does, but those around her begin to die. “Via folk horror and Tepito urban realism, the film tackles marginal existence, identity and the need to believe from a profoundly Mexican perspective,” Chiva tells Variety.
Courtesy of Jesus ‘Chiva’ Rodriguez
