Bleak Spanish Dystopian Horror Disforia (FANTASTIC) Makes Home Invasion Meaner
Title: Disforia
First Non-Festival Release: TBD
Director: Christopher Cartagena González
Writer: Joan-Pol Argenter, Christopher Cartagena González, Imanol Ortiz López
Runtime: 82 Minutes
Starring: Fariba Sheikhan, Eloy Azorín, Noah Casas, Claudia Salas
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2025.
It is easy to understand how quickly one can be desensitized in a world where anything from a conversation with a friend to a genocide can be live streamed for audiences to react to with awe, shock, glee, and despair. To a degree it is understandable that so many are disaffected when confronted with so much real-life tragedy packaged as content to keep your attention locked into predatory algorithms designed to cash in on fear.
One family attempts to escape the economic and political horrors raging in their country. The plan is simple. In one night, parents Esther (Fariba Sheikhan) and Tomás (Eloy Azorín) will steal away with their daughter Sai (Noah Casas) to a new home far away. Once the sale on their house goes through, they’ll be set. Their plan is bulletproof until Tomás disappears the night before, and a strange woman (Claudia Salas) claiming to be the buyer shows up the next morning.
A bleak home invasion horror, Disforia captures the constant dread of a crumbling world.
Thrusting viewers into its dizzying and terrifying world of economic collapse, Disforia breadcrumbs its viewer in building upon its sociopolitical woes. Constructing a fascinating world of suicide cults and political ennui, Disforia leaves its more interesting elements in the background, allowing its most insidious suggestions to silently creep into the family’s individual story. Alone, these morsels of information would be a horrifying adornment on the overall state of society but Disforia intentionally infuses some of these societal quirks into the narrative, so it feels grounded. Without doing too much, and risk getting too cartoonish, Disforia imagines how violence transforms when humans have nothing to lose, but everything to gain, from its use.
With the desensitization to violence rampant in real-life, Disforia posits how it can get even worse. Anchored by a believable antagonist and a stripped-down plot, Disforia starts slow before taking a sharp turn in its second act. Mixing traditional home invasion tropes with a bit of sadism, director Christopher Cartagena knows how to squeeze tension out of every setpiece. The mundane becomes deadly when Esther is forced to use herself and her home against her attacker, making everything a potential deadly weapon. Cartagena engages by keeping the action dynamic, his awareness of the shape of violence allows the few moments of respite to feel as painful and hopeless as the fight sequences. Desperation becomes the common thread tying these women together as Disforia churns on to the bitter end.
Once the action really starts, Disforia does lose a little focus when telling this chaotic and heartbreaking tale of survival. After the intruder is revealed and the stakes elevate significantly, Disforia shifts between the high velocity violence and breaks that don’t always line up well pacing-wise. It’s noticed mostly in the lulls, as the action is captivating enough thanks to its focus on the imagined consequences if Esther fails. Regardless of its progression issues, Disforia still manages to discomfort.
Muted colors and a suitably depressing set help make the world of Disforia feel as drab as it must be to those forced to live there. Disforia does a great job maintaining this cold, dread-inducing atmosphere through its pitiful set design. Consisting of rather simple location shoots in the woods and the city, most of the action of Disforia is contained to a decaying two story home in the country. Rot is commonplace here. Infecting every corner of their lives, little set details speak volumes at how dire the situation is in Spain. Choosing to revel in the filth, Disforia keeps pace with the horrifying state of affairs it details in its prologue.
While not as mean as it could be, Disforia is a chilling indie horror that posits how much life can change if a nation suffers just a few more tragedies before succumbing to its worst impulses. Its downbeat approach to horror operates best in the implications of its violence rather than the quick and flashier visceral moments. The final act is a bit disoriented and a letdown considering what precedes it, but that doesn’t stop Disforia from being a positively nasty horror film. Fans of bleak horror will be delighted to hear that this home invasion thriller carries the brutality one would expect from this world [and theirs].
Overall Score? 8/10
