The 2025 edition of the Rio Festival starts this week and, over the next few days, the eyes of moviegoers from all over the planet will be focused on the wonderful city. There are many eagerly awaited films, hotly contested previews and debates in a program that promises to be fantastic! For those who enjoy horror films, the menu is unmissable! Below are some suggestions for you to check out during the festival:

The Primate

Upon returning from college for a few days of vacation at her family's home in Hawaii, Lucy reunites with her father, younger sister and their pet chimpanzee, Ben. His mother, who passed away a few years earlier, was a scientist and raised Ben since the animal was born as if he were a member of the family. However, on the eve of Lucy's arrival, the chimpanzee is bitten by a wild animal and contracts rabies. What will happen in the following days will force Lucy, her sister and friends to take refuge, in absolute terror, in the pool – the only place Ben fears. (Official Festival Synopsis)

Lake of Bones

A couple, looking to reconnect intimately, rent a lakeside house for the weekend. However, another couple also appears. Upon realizing that the property has been booked twice at the same time by mistake, the two couples sheepishly agree to share the space and make the most of their weekend together. What starts out promisingly as friendship soon turns into a twisted series of sex and lies, and the idyllic weekend quickly collapses into a torrent of orgiastic violence, with generous doses of sensuality and bloodlust. (Official Festival Synopsis)

The Ugly Stepsister

Body horror film that reimagines the tale of Cinderella from the perspective of her half-sister, Elvira. In a society where beauty is the currency of exchange, Elvira resorts to extreme and grotesque measures to achieve unrealistic standards and win the prince's heart, facing competition from her beautiful half-sister, Agnes. The film explores beauty, pain, greed and ugliness behind the search for a physical ideal, with a strong social critique. (Official Festival Synopsis)

Exit 8

A man becomes increasingly desperate when he realizes that he is trapped in a subway station, needing to complete a mission to get out. He is required to follow some rules while walking to the exit. However, a single mistake makes him return to his starting point again and again, leading him to question whether he will ever actually be able to leave the place. (Official Festival Synopsis)

Skinny!

It's Christmas time in Los Angeles. Penny, tormented by her own binge eating and body dysmorphia, takes Thinestra, a mysterious drug similar to Ozempic. That night, she violently expels grotesque masses of fat. But the flesh returns—distorted, ravenous, reborn as PENELOPE. As the doppelganger wreaks bloody havoc across the city, Penny struggles to regain control. (Official Festival Synopsis)

Queens of the Dead

When a zombie apocalypse strikes during a drag show in Brooklyn, an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids and friends-enemies must put aside their personal dramas and use unique skills to combat the brain-hungry undead. (Official Festival Synopsis)

The Flesh Itself

Three deserting soldiers during the Paraguayan War in 1870, each fighting for survival in their own way, find an isolated house on the border, inhabited only by a mysterious farmer and a young woman. What seemed like a safe haven turns into a terrifying nightmare when the soldiers discover the house hides macabre secrets, confronting them with a fate even more horrific than the war they fled. (Official Festival Synopsis)

Narcissa's Inheritance

Haunted by the memories of her recently deceased mother, the former star Narcisa, Ana decides to sell the childhood home she inherited and share the money with her brother, Diego. However, the dark cleaning process reveals a heritage very different from what she imagined. (Official Festival Synopsis)

Virtuous

A VIP retreat for women looking to be the best version of themselves turns into an absurd and dangerous journey. (Official Festival Synopsis)

Macabre Weekend

Nikiya is an orphan who feels alone and longs for a family. She begins to find a sense of belonging in her fiancé, Luke, and insists on meeting his family, who resist the idea. To please her and out of love for her, Luke finally makes the sacrifice. While visiting his hometown in the countryside, meeting the people, Nikiya discovers the truth behind Luke's estrangement, revealing dark family dynamics and conflicts, turning the trip into a nightmare. (Official Festival Synopsis)