‘Ferine’ Trailer: Carolyn Bracken Hunts Through Grief in Andrea Corsini’s Debut Horror Feature

“A good hunter, in order to understand her predator, needs to know where her last kill came from.”

That warning hangs over the first teaser for writer/director Andrea Corsini’s “Ferine,” a deeply unsettling glimpse at a new mysterious horror movie making its international premiere in Fantasia’s prestigious Cheval Noir Competition on July 23. IndieWire exclusively debuts both the teaser and poster below — but your guess is as good as ours when it comes to understanding this particular piece of cinematic prey.

The feature directorial debut of its Italian filmmaker, Corsini’s “Ferine” stars Carolyn Bracken (“Oddity”) as Irene. She’s a wealthy art collector whose life is abruptly shattered by tragedy after adopting a baby through a surrogate arrangement.

As grief gives way to Irene’s more primal mourning instincts, the protagonist’s path collides with Caroline Goodall’s always-collected Dama (“Schindler’s List”). And soon, the affluent trafficker of exotic animals identifies Irene as a suffering woman who has quietly become a dangerous predator herself.

Bracken, who is almost unrecognizable here, broke out with her haunting performance in Damian McCarthy’s “Oddity.” The 2024 film helped establish its Irish auteur as one of the indie genre circuit’s most shining success stories, and opposite Goodall, Bracken looks ready to channel something like the feral physicality of Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” — while also embracing Corsini’s distinct directorial vision and startlingly abrasive horror voice.

“Ferine” arrives at Fantasia after a years-long journey through the festival’s own development pipeline. Corsini’s original short premiered during Venice Critics’ Week in 2020 before celebrating its Canadian premiere at Fantasia. The feature adaptation debuted through the Frontières Proof-of-Concept program at Cannes in 2021 and later participated in Frontières’ Co-Production Market in Montreal, making this year’s world premiere a fitting homecoming. The film also boasts an original score from legendary Italian composer Pino Donaggio, know for “Carrie,” “Don’t Look Now,” and “The Howling.”

Fantasia artistic director and director of international programming Mitch Davis called the work “a powerhouse of a film, aesthetically stunning and thematically rich” and said it marks “a return to a provocative and stylish form of Italian horror cinema that has been absent from the screen for years.”

Check out the IndieWire-exclusive trailer for “Ferine” below.