Disforia – Movie Review | Fantastic Fest (3/5)

DISFORIA is a Spanish Horror movie set in a world on the brink of total collapse. How do they face the apocalyptic events? Well, in very different ways, and a terrible lack of communication. World Premiere at Fantastic Fest. Read our full Disforia movie review here!

DISFORIA is a horror movie from Spain getting its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025. This is one of the more tragic and sad horror movies of the festival this year. Both due to the plot and the characters of this particular story.

The movie is set in a world where everything has gone wrong, and survival may be possible for some, but no longer very desirable for many. If you’re feeling blue, this movie won’t help. Even if it does ultimately offer some hope.

Continue reading our Disforia movie review below.

Who wants to survive this?

The world we’re presented with when Disforia opens seems to be one that has given up. In fact, many people have decided to leave this world behind as hope has vanished from their lives.

Those who continue to struggle will also come across those who have said goodbye to life. They take what they can from those people and move on. Oh yes, Disforia features an extremely dark worldview.

Sadly, it also shows how some people continue to gain pleasure from the pain of others. Not least via social media and other digital platforms.

We meet the married couple, Esther and Tomás, as they try to leave behind their home in a city ravaged by looting and economic collapse. They decide to flee a brutal and impossible life by taking their young daughter to their country house.

If they could sell this place, they would have a hope of getting enough cash to escape the country altogether. However, that’s easier said than done, and we will soon learn that Esther and Tomás don’t quite see eye to eye on these plans.

Desperation meets depression

With Disforia, the world may be an awful place full of desperation. However, a human being with depression is no picnic either. For our married couple, both desperation and depression play huge roles in their plans.

As survival becomes paramount to the small family, it feels like a game to the stranger (Claudia Salas) standing at the door. Instead of everything they had planned, they are forced into a violent nightmare.

I recognize that the whole “a stranger at their door” part may sound like something out of The Strangers horror franchise, but Disforia is something very different.

At times, the vibe reminded me of Vincent Must Die, though the plots actually differ wildly. That particular movie was French, and I highly recommend it. A survival movie with a sci-fi element, which Disforia does not have.

Disforia World Premiere at Fantastic Fest

Disforia comes from director Christopher Cartagena González, and his idea of horror is definitely of the more grim and bleak variety. Human nature can be (or get) extremely dark, as highlighted by the plot in this movie.

The movie is based on the novel Disforia written by David Jasso, while the screenplay comes from director Christopher Cartagena with Joan-Pol Argenter and Imanol Ortiz in their feature film debut.

At its core, this Spanish horror movie deals with mental health and motherhood, but it also has a horror story that is tied entirely to the apocalyptic situation playing out. In other words, you can watch it however you please.

For me, Disforia is at its strongest when it combines both, which is exactly what happens for most of this movie. Can it be frustrating as well? Oh yeah. But isn’t that just the way life is, as well?!

Disforia enjoyed its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025.

Details

Director: Christopher Cartagena
Screenwriters: Joan-Pol Argenter, Christopher Cartagena, Imanol Ortiz
Cast: Fariba Sheikhan, Claudia Salas, Eloy Azorín, Noah Casas