UPCOMING FILM: OSCAR MARTIN’S UPIRO
After its acclaimed world premiere at the Sitges Film Festival, Spanish director Oscar Martín has unleashed his film, Upiro , a dark period horror and psychological drama. Written by Martín alongside Elena Muñoz, Upiro explores themes of religious fanaticism, grief, and ancient folkloric myths, delivering an atmospheric immersion into 18th-century Spanish gothic horror.
Set in Spain during the 1700s, the story follows a young woman who enters a isolated, austere convent in search of refuge and spiritual healing following a personal tragedy. However, her sanctuary quickly turns into a nightmare when a series of unsettling and unexplainable occurrences begin to terrorize the novice nuns. As dread and paranoia consume the order, it becomes terrifyingly clear that an ancient, parasitic entity—a vampire from Slavic folklore known as an “upiro”—has infiltrated the sacred grounds, feeding on the faith and flesh of the devout.
Oscar Martín returns to the horror genre after his critically acclaimed debut feature Amigo (2019), which earned widespread recognition and numerous awards across international genre festivals. Upiro stars Aida Folch (The Artist, I Know Who You Are), Javier Botet (IT, The Conjuring 2, REC), and David Pareja (Amigo), delivering powerful performances that anchor the film’s grounded approach to supernatural horror.
Shot in striking historic locations across Spain, Upiro is produced by El Ojo Mecánico in co-production with international partners, combining meticulous period detail with modern horror techniques. Director Oscar Martín noted that the film uses the isolation of the monastic setting and the historic mythology of the upiro to examine how fear, isolation, and unyielding dogma can break the human mind, offering a fresh, distinctly European perspective on classic vampire lore.
