I did not expect a return to bug horror to come anytime soon, but Infested will surely bring its return to cinemas. The directorial debut from Sébastien Vaniček brings all the creepy crawlies front and center. We got the chance to watch the movie earlier this week at Fantastic Fest and let’s just say, I can’t look at a vent the same.

The film follows the story of an apartment complex that becomes infested with deadly spiders. It’s all I’ll say without spoiling much of the story. The film does a great job at really making your skin crawl with its creatures. In my opinion it’s hard to make a bug horror nowadays, but Infested really succeeds. It feels like everything has been done, however, we get something fresh with Infested when it comes to the sub-genre.

The acting here is pretty good, but the story is where things can lack. The film starts off a bit slow but once the second act hits and the spiders are out it changes. Infested starts going 100 mph and the creative kills really make the film. I wasn’t sure how spiders could be shown as scary but Infested does that very well. The spiders are a mix of practical and CGI and for the most part it works. However, there are some moments where they look too cartoonish but overall, they look fine.

One thing about Infested is that is plot is simple which can be both good and bad. Infested has some pretty interesting and cool visuals to aid the thin story. A lot of what works with Infested is watching it with a group. Watching a movie just to see everyone’s reactions when the spiders start going crazy makes it a really fun experience.

In the end, we think Infested is a fun addition to the horror genre but not redefining. It’s a fun movie to watch with a group and will definitely revamp people’s fear of spiders.

We give Infested 3.7/5.

Infested is set to debut on Shudder in 2024.