Film

Infested

Name: Infested
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Released: 2023
Cast: Théo Christine, Sofia Lesaffre, Finnegan Oldfield, Jérôme Niel, Lisa Nyarko

Monster horror
Survival adventure
Very dark
Relentless

A French creature-horror film about residents of a decaying Paris apartment block fighting an infestation of aggressive, fast-breeding spiders. Visceral and claustrophobic, it trades jump scares for sustained dread and body horror. For anyone who liked the texture of *The Fly* but wants spiders instead, or who appreciates horror that makes you itch.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy creature features that treat a cramped housing block like a pressure cooker, where the tension is social as much as it is about the things skittering through the walls.

Skip it if arachnophobia, obviously, and anyone wanting slow-burn dread, since this moves briskly and favours squirmy set pieces over quiet character moments.

What it asks of you: Expect a lean runtime of under two hours, a brisk escalation, and a willingness to stay with grim, grubby pileups of panic rather than subtle scares.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Fly1986

Cronenberg's remake is the gold standard for body-horror transformation. Intimate, grotesque, and genuinely moving—it shows what happens when you treat a horror premise with real empathy and visual commitment.

But It's slower than you'd expect, and the protagonist's decay is distressing in ways that linger. Not a popcorn movie.

Alien1979

The template for creature-horror done right: perfect pacing, minimal dialogue, maximum dread. Ridley Scott builds atmosphere until the air itself feels dangerous. Endlessly influential and endlessly effective.

But Forty-five years old means some effects look dated, though that oddly works in its favor. Also genuinely slow-burn—patience required.

Ring1998

Japanese horror built on accumulating unease rather than shocks. The curse feels inevitable, inescapable, wrong in ways you can't quite articulate. Visually stunning and deeply unsettling.

But The premise (killer video tape) sounds goofy and it takes real commitment not to laugh at the setup. Pacing will feel glacial if you're not in the mood.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Infested

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Micmacs2009

Both trap characters in decaying apartment buildings using their environment as a weapon. Same claustrophobic logic, opposite tones.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet's wildly inventive French film about urban misfits and mechanical traps in a ramshackle apartment complex. Not horror, but shares *Infested*'s obsession with confined spaces, resourcefulness under siege, and making the inanimate threatening. Playful instead of terrifying, but structurally kin.

But Aggressively whimsical and fussy—Jeunet's visual style is maximalist in ways that exhaust some viewers. If you want straightforward storytelling, this aesthetic will feel precious.

Cabin Fever2003

Eli Roth's debut treats a flesh-eating virus like an invasion: sudden, contagious, body-horror done with real craft. Grimy and funny and absolutely skin-crawling. A cult classic that earns it.

But The tone shifts between horror and dark comedy, which some find tonal whiplash. Also genuinely revolting in places; not recommended before meals.

Under the Skin2014

Mica Lodes crafts a sci-fi horror about invasion and otherness that feels more like watching something contaminate a space than a traditional plot. Hypnotic, strange, utterly its own thing.

But Almost entirely mood and texture—there's barely a story. If you need clarity or resolution, this will frustrate you deeply.

The Descent2005

British horror that weaponizes claustrophobia before revealing the monsters. Suffocating, taut, with practical creature work that holds up. One of the best horror films of the 2000s.

But The darkness is genuinely hard to see sometimes. Claustrophobia builds to an almost unbearable level—not for anxiety-prone viewers.

Arachnophobia1990

Spielberg's surprisingly smart thriller about a swarm of venomous spiders. It's funny and tense by turns, and uses practical effects with real creativity. More thoughtful than it has any right to be.

But The tone is lighter and more family-friendly than *Infested*. If you want pure dread, this softens it too much with charm.

Bug2007

William Friedkin's paranoid chamber piece about two people convinced insects are crawling under their skin. Claustrophobic, feverish, genuinely unsettling. A master class in building conspiracy-horror tension.

But Almost entirely two characters in one room. The plot is deliberately thin. If you need movement and incident, you'll find it static.

Slither2006

James Gunn's B-movie about alien slugs invading a small town plays body-horror for laughs without losing the gross-out factor. Silly, gory, committed to the bit. Pure fun.

But It commits fully to camp and comedy. If you're after serious horror, the constant jokes will deflate the tension you want to feel.

Possession1981

Both use creature-horror as metaphor for intimate collapse. Same dread engine, but *Possession* internalizes it—the monster is the relationship itself.

Andrzej Żuławski's experimental Polish-French horror about a marriage dissolving into chaos is nightmarish and baroque. The creature effects are grotesque; the emotional horror is worse. Surreal, visceral, unforgettable—a film that feels like a fever dream.

But The narrative is deliberately fractured and symbolist. If you need clarity about what's happening or why, this will enrage you. Also extremely strange about gender and sexuality in ways that date it.

Safe1995

Both watch helplessness spread through a confined space. *Infested* is external threat; *Safe* internalizes it. Same feeling of walls closing in.

Todd Haynes' minimalist sci-fi horror about environmental illness is quieter than *Infested* but more disturbing. A woman becomes allergic to the world itself. Sterile, precise, utterly devastating. A masterpiece of slow-building dread that hits different.

But Nothing actually happens in the conventional sense. It's a portrait of progressive isolation with almost no plot. Many find it boring; others find it unbearably sad—there's no middle ground.