#infested 2023

[fanofspooky]

Insect horror movies

[stage666podcast]

Infested (2023)

[gloomdocwife]

Tonight's Watch

[stage666podcast]

Infested (2023) - Kaleb appreciation post

[stuff-diary]

Infested

Movies watched in 2026

Infested (2023, France)

Director: Sébastien Vaniček

Writers: Sébastien Vaniček and Florent Bernard (based on a story by Vaniček)

Mini-review:

The trailer for the upcoming Evil Dead Burn is one of the coolest things I've seen this year, so I had to look up the director's previous work. Well, here we are, and now I'm even more excited. Vaniček clearly knows how to wring tension by putting the creature feature element in a confined space. Also, he manages to include some social commentary in a way that feels quite effective. The movie does run a bit too long, but in its best moments, it had me gasping and gripping my seat. I found the effects to be pretty solid, both those made practically and those that use CGI. The acting is also impressive all across the board, but Sofia Lesaffre in particular made me genuinely believe she was terrified of spiders. So yeah, Infested is an impressive horror debut that has me interested in whatever the director makes next.

[advancedessence]

Infested (2023)

[horror-huntress]

Infested (2023)

*This is a French movie, and I watched it with subtitles*

Watch date: June 6, 2025

Where: Shudder

Overall rating: 9/10

Google synopsis: Residents of a rundown apartment building battle against an army of deadly, rapidly reproducing Spiders that are becoming bigger and bigger. A chillingly effective creature feature with more on its mind than simple creepy-crawlies.

*My personal review contains spoilers for the movie, which is why it’s been put under a cut. Please use your discretion in reading this review, and understand that this is NOT spoiler free*

My thoughts: This was truly one of the best foreign films I’ve ever seen (though admittedly I haven’t seen all that many). The acting was incredible, and the characters felt like just watching real people; I was empathetic to these characters and wanted them to make it out alive, as well as feeling sad when some died

I was also quite impressed with the quality of the makeup and special effects, which is something I love (and secretly kind of judge) in every horror movie. The makeup work seemed like something that would be very realistic for powerful spider venom coursing through a victim’s body

Honestly I really dislike spiders in real life. It’s not exactly a fear, more like a severe aversion, because I just don’t want them to be on/around me. So long as they leave me alone and keep their distance I’m usually fine, and even have a few spiders living around my house right now; I let them stay because they just hang out in the corners of whichever room they’re in and eat any smaller bugs that might fly into the house. Anyway, having this aversion already, the thought of large venomous spiders rapidly multiplying to the point that they could take over an entire apartment complex is absolutely terrifying. My skin was tingling and prickling the entire time I watched the movie, and I cringed quite a bit

Also as I do not speak French, I had to watch the movie with subtitles, as I mentioned above. Sometimes I find that this can take me out of the movie, especially if the dialogue is rather complex or detailed alongside the film. But in this case the subtitles were very easy to read and follow along with, and didn’t hinder my viewing of the movie

This is one I would absolutely recommend to other horror lovers, especially those who are particularly fond of creature features and monster movies

Trigger warning for those who have a fear of spiders, of course