New Zealands’s Black Mandala has acquired five horror features for its international sales slate: “The Tree House,” “Babybacks,” “The Driftless,” “Saturnalia” and “The Shug,” spanning psychological terror, survival horror, Midwestern folklore, supernatural giallo and British creature horror.
“The Tree House,” directed by Luis Calderón, is a Spanish slasher-thriller starring Goya Award nominee Sandra Escacena alongside Claudio Portalo, Kandido Uranga, Apolonia Lapiedra and musician Mala Rodríguez. The film follows Ale, who sees her partner die in a fall from a treehouse above the Zeanuri forest, then returns a year later to prove foul play – but her hunt for the truth leaves her the one being hunted. Shot in Spain’s Basque Country, it has already picked up honors for best international feature, best production and best horror film at various festivals.
“Babybacks,” written and directed by Geno Marx, stars Viridiana Márquez, Melissa Chambers, Ray Acevedo, Ryan Rathbun and Peter Lucas. The survival horror film centers on a young couple on the run from cartel hitmen through the Sonoran Desert who take shelter with an outwardly kind older couple – who turn out to be predators of their own. The film has been selected for the 2026 International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival.
“The Driftless,” from Midwestern filmmaker Tim Connery, is an anthology built around four tales tied to the folklore of America’s Driftless Region, framed by a mysterious antique-store owner. Its cast includes Ira Amyx, Torrey Hanson and Justin Marxen, and the film has collected 18 festival awards to date, among them honors from Eerie Horror Fest, Grimmfest and Midwest WeirdFest.
“Saturnalia,” directed by Daniel Lerch, is a supernatural giallo set in 1979 with an original score by Claudio Simonetti, a founding member of Goblin and longtime Dario Argento collaborator. The story follows Miriam Basconi, sent to the Alstroemerias Academy after her parents’ mysterious deaths, where she uncovers disappearances and a headmistress hiding something far darker. The cast is led by Sophia Anthony, Velvet, Dante Blake and Amariah Dionne. The film had its world premiere in 2025 at the Raindance Film Festival, then crossed to Dances With Films New York for its North American premiere.
“The Shug”: Martin J Pickering wrote and directed the British folk-horror creature feature set in Cambridgeshire, where sightings of the titular creature draw an alcoholic haunted by a childhood encounter back into the woods after his daughter goes missing on a camping trip. He joins an investigative journalist and a paranormal YouTuber in the search. Inspired by reported real-life sightings, the film has already won best indie film at the Boston Indie Film Festival and best screenplay and best practical or visual effects at the Catacombs Film Festival, along with recognition from several other genre festivals.
Black Mandala’s Michael Kraetzer said, “We are extremely excited about these five films. Each one approaches horror from a completely different direction, but they all have what we are looking for: a strong concept, memorable imagery, committed filmmakers and a clear identity. Together, they demonstrate how diverse and internationally appealing independent genre cinema can be.”
Black Mandala is an international sales and production company with a focus on horror, thriller, sci-fi and fantasy titles, working with independent filmmakers to build out festival, marketing and distribution strategy.
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