Infested (2024) spoiler free review

Be careful when you open your gifts. Infested (French: Vermines) is a 2024 French horror movie directed by Sébastien Vanicek and written by Vanicek and Florent Bernard. The film had its world premiere on September 8, 2023 at the Venice Film Festival, and was released in the United States on the streaming platform Shudder on April 26, 2024.

Residents of a rundown French apartment building battle against an army of deadly, rapidly reproducing spiders.

Film synopsis

The cast includes Théo Christine as Kaleb, Sofia Lesaffre as Lila, Jérôme Niel as Mathys, Lisa Nyarko as Manon, Finnegan Oldfield as Jordy, Marie-Philomène Nga as Claudia, Mahamadou Sangaré as Moussa, Abdellah Moundy as M. Benzaoui, Ike Zacsongo-Joseph as Toumani, and Emmanuel Bonami as Gilles.

My opinion

Kaleb is close to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. Between fighting with his sister over an inheritance and cutting ties with his best friend, he distracts himself with the unusual pets that he keeps in his room. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. But what Kaleb didn’t anticipate is that the spider would escape and start terrorizing the entire building.

Directed by Sébastien Vanicek the film traps you from the start in its spider webs leaving you unable to stop looking at the screen. Unlike other movies about creatures and monsters, Infested takes the time to develop the story and characters, giving depth and purpose to what could have been just another movie about spiders. The atmosphere created by the claustrophobic structure of the apartments, similar to REC (2007), intensifies the tension, becoming a nightmare for those who are afraid of spiders.

The cast, lead by Théo Christine as Kaleb, delivers a convincing performance which adds positively to the already well written script. Even though some elements of the plot may be predictable, the development and story conclude satisfactorily. Infested is the surprise of the year that no one should miss, now available on Shudder.