By George & Josh Bate
The annual film festival Fantastic Fest is home to a wide variety of titles every year. There are higher profile projects, such as Robert Pattinson’s Primetime, which made its North American debut last weekend at the event. At the same time, there are other films that may not have the same sort of star power, but often stand out as some of the most memorable of the whole festival.
That’s certainly the case for Ürei, a slow burn psychological thriller making its world premiere at this year’s Fantastic Fest. From writer/director Yerkezhan Baizhan, who had her short film debut at Fantastic Fest in 2024, Ürei follows a young girl who goes to stay with her granddaughter in rural Kazakhstan. What starts out as your ordinary grandchild/grandparent relationship quickly turns into something more sinister as trauma from the past begins to creep in. Ürei also incorporates classic elements from European and Asian folklore to create a deeply unsettling and unique horror tale.
As is the case with virtually every horror/thriller movie, the role of Ürei’s atmosphere proves integral to its ultimate effectiveness as a piece of genre cinema. Baizhan’s feature already earns plaudits for its unique setting, moving the scares outside of the English speaking Western world and instead locating them firmly in Kazakhstan, her home country. Doing so automatically gives Ürei a novelty, at least for Western audiences, that makes it stand out from other genre fare at this year’s Fantastic Fest.
The rural setting goes hand-in-hand with how atmospheric the film is. As the horror begins, the characters living out in the country side only makes the granddaughter feel more isolated, which in turn increases the tension of the story. The granddaughter in question, 14 year old Kalima, becomes increasingly threatened by her grandmother’s action, a prospect that’s already frightening enough. However, the setting, and the atmosphere crafted by Baizhan’s direction, somehow makes this even scarier.
Ürei also deserves immense praise for its two lead performances. Playing the grandmother is Tynyshkul Sultanberdiyeva, and along with the film’s script, it’s she who brings the compelling duality of the character to life. On one hand, the grandmother is sweet and loving, but at the same time, she’s also extremely menacing and threatening. Sultanberdiyeva takes a character that could have been fairly one-dimensional and turns her into something decidedly more intimidating and tragic.
VERDICT: 8/10
Ürei is a haunting and atmospheric psychological thriller that proves some of Fantastic Fest’s most memorable films don’t need major stars or big budgets to make an impact. Yerkezhan Baizhan’s feature debut uses the rural landscapes of Kazakhstan, elements of European and Asian folklore, and an increasingly unsettling story of family trauma to create a uniquely disturbing watch. While the film takes its time building tension, the slow-burn approach ultimately pays off, particularly thanks to the eerie setting and Tynyshkul Sultanberdiyeva’s compelling performance as a grandmother whose loving exterior hides something far more sinister.