Fantastic Fest is back in Austin, and one title is already the talk of the festival grounds: Posthumous. The Australian horror film, which unveiled its first clip just ahead of its world premiere, follows a young woman who returns home to watch a series of birthday videos left by her late mother — only to discover the tapes are hiding something far darker than grief. Here's everything you need to know about the film, its star, and why horror fans are so obsessed with a single VCR.
Key Things to Know
- Posthumous is having its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 19, 2026.
- The Australian horror film is directed by Josh Tanner, running 110 minutes.
- Sophie Lowe stars as Zoe, a woman piecing together her mother's death through old birthday tapes.
- The festival runs September 17 through 24 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas.
- Fans are already comparing the film's cursed-tape premise to The Ring and the V/H/S franchise.
The Fantastic Fest World Premiere
Posthumous is one of the marquee horror titles at this year's Fantastic Fest, and per Collider, the film is set to make its world premiere in Austin on September 19. The festival — often described as one of the most eclectic genre showcases in America — has built a reputation for launching under-the-radar horror into the mainstream conversation, and this year's slate is no exception.
The buzz didn't take long to build. Once the first clip dropped, horror outlets immediately drew comparisons to two beloved touchstones of the genre, framing Lowe's discovery of the unsettling VHS mystery as a fresh spin on found-footage dread. It's the kind of premise that practically writes its own marketing copy — VHS tapes and an occult mystery are a combination genre fans simply can't resist.
Posthumous isn't the only horror title making its debut on the festival circuit this month, either. Bigwritehook also covered Sick, the horror feature debut from Ida star Agata Trzebuchowska, which is set for its own world premiere at Fantastic Fest this month.
Inside the Film's VHS Nightmare
The setup is deceptively simple. Zoe has just turned thirty and moves back in with her widowed father while she tries to rebuild her life, and — as has become her yearly ritual — she watches one of the birthday videotapes her late mother recorded before she died in childbirth. What should be a comforting connection to the mother she never knew instead spirals into something much stranger.
Rather than a heartfelt birthday message, the tape Zoe plays reveals fragments of what looks like an occult ritual, participants in robes and hoods, and her mother eerily singing "Happy Birthday" — all while, mysteriously, more than half an hour has passed in real time. The real birthday tape, it turns out, is still sitting untouched in a box nearby. That single unsettling detail sets Zoe on a path toward uncovering the truth about her mother's death, and it's the reveal that has early viewers convinced Posthumous is one of this year's stealth standouts. (More on where it fits the festival's overall lineup below.)
Meet Star Sophie Lowe
Lowe, the 36-year-old British-Australian actress, has spent more than fifteen years building a career on exactly this kind of layered, emotionally complicated role. She broke out with her AFI-nominated performance in Beautiful Kate, later starring opposite Naomi Watts and Robin Wright in Adore, and became a familiar face to American audiences as Alice in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. She's since built a genre-friendly résumé that includes After the Dark and Netflix's Clickbait.
Posthumous marks one of her most physically and emotionally demanding roles yet, per the early first-look coverage from Collider. Zoe spends much of the film alone, working through grief and suspicion in near isolation — a tall order for any actress, and exactly the sort of slow-burn dread that Fantastic Fest crowds tend to reward.
If Lowe's slow-burn turn has you thinking about other actors making the leap into horror this fall, it's worth noting that Gabrielle Union also just sold US rights to her supernatural thriller Casket Girls out of TIFF this month — proof the genre is having a real moment across the festival circuit.
Director Josh Tanner's Vision
Behind the camera is Josh Tanner, helming the project as his Fantastic Fest world premiere. Coverage from IndieWire frames the film as one of the darker, more grief-driven entries in this year's horror slate, with the occult reveal upending everything Zoe was told about her mother's death.
One horror newsletter summed it up well, noting that grief takes on a genuinely sinister shape by the time the world premiere reaches its final act — a description that captures exactly why the film has become an early word-of-mouth favorite. It's a rare festival debut that pairs a genuinely creepy hook with real emotional stakes, rather than leaning on shock value alone.
A quick programming note before you keep reading: this isn't the only tape-based nightmare on this year's schedule. Play House, winner of the 2025 Fantastic Pitches program, follows a similar haunted-media thread with a stash of tapes from an unaired children's show — proof that VHS dread is very much having a moment at this year's festival.
Where Posthumous Fits the 2026 Lineup
Fantastic Fest's 21st edition is stacked with high-profile genre titles, and Posthumous is sharing the spotlight with some heavy hitters. The festival opens with Lionsgate's creature feature Beware Boiúna, includes the U.S. premiere of Mike Flanagan's Carrie adaptation, and features a gala screening of Zach Cregger's Resident Evil just a day ahead of its nationwide release. Also premiering is Godmother, a desert-set chiller executive produced by Seán McLoughlin — better known to millions as Jacksepticeye — and starring genre icon Dee Wallace.
Per iHorror, the sheer density of world premieres this year has made Posthumous stand out even among stiff competition — a sign that Tanner's slow-burn approach to grief and the supernatural is resonating with programmers and early audiences alike. If you're the kind of horror fan who still gets a chill from the sound of a VHS tape clicking into a VCR, this is shaping up to be the one to watch.
Horror sequels are having a moment on the festival circuit too. Just this month, Jessica Rothe revealed that she and director Christopher Landon have finally cracked the story for Happy Death Day 3 — another reminder that genre filmmaking is thriving right now, from franchise sequels to Fantastic Fest debuts like Posthumous.
When and Where to Watch
Posthumous premieres September 19, 2026, at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas, as part of Fantastic Fest, which runs through September 24. No wide theatrical release date has been announced yet, which is typical for a film making its world premiere on the festival circuit — distribution deals for buzzy genre titles often come together in the weeks following a strong festival reception.
For now, fans will have to settle for the unsettling first clip that's already made the rounds online, along with the exclusive first-look image Collider shared ahead of the premiere. Keep an eye on the film's festival reception this week — a strong response at Fantastic Fest has a track record of translating into a fast theatrical or streaming deal for horror breakouts.
Whether Posthumous becomes this year's true breakout or simply a cult favorite among genre die-hards, one thing is already clear: Josh Tanner and Sophie Lowe have tapped into something that horror fans can't look away from. Stay tuned for more coverage as the film's Fantastic Fest reception — and any distribution news — rolls in.
