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.
