The global IP content studio EO Contents Group produced global high-teen horror film Gangryeong: Ghost Play, which was screened to great success at the 58th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in Sitges, Spain, drawing explosive interest and response from global audiences. Local industry officials and viewers highly praised a new facet of Korean-style occult horror.
Founded in 1968 as a week for fantasy and horror film screenings, the Sitges festival is now Europe's largest fantastic film festival, drawing more than about 300,000 attendees each year and has established itself as a leading fantastic film festival known as the "home of horror." It is counted among the world's three major fantastic film festivals alongside the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival and Fantasporto, and has been regarded as a gateway for filmmakers in the horror, thriller, fantasy and sci-fi genres worldwide. As a domestic film example, Pamyow was invited to the 57th Sitges Film Festival after surpassing 10 million admissions in 2024 and won the jury special prize.
Officially invited in the Brigadoon section of the 58th Sitges Film Festival, Gangryeong: Ghost Play is a high-teen occult thriller that depicts the overwhelming terror encountered by Ja-young and her friends when, while filming a video titled "a divination that tells you anything" for a contest, they out of curiosity attempt a real divination.
A Sitges Film Festival official said of Gangryeong: Ghost Play, "It is an excellent work that combines the collective sensibility unique to Korean horror with modern visuals. It is an intriguing film that exquisitely interweaves mystery, artful scares and psychological suspense."
Starting with its screening at the Sitges Film Festival on the 13th, Gangryeong: Ghost Play is also invited to the 31st Lund International Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden, running from the 24th to the 31st, and will continue meeting Northern European audiences later this year.
EO Contents Group CEO Oh Eun-young said the narrative appeal of Korean horror and the concept of Eastern magic have offered freshness to overseas audiences, explaining the film's consecutive festival invitations.
Gangryeong: Ghost Play opened in Korea on Aug. 6, 2025, and with its fresh concept of "an occult thriller that blurs the boundary between death games and sorcery," intense tension in a confined space and an immersive portrayal of divination settings, it heated up the summer box office amid positive reviews. It was also officially invited to the Korean feature competition at the 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, where it was praised for "a tightly built tension in which collapsing friendships and hidden secrets gradually come to light without losing dramatic immersion," according to programmer Lee Jeong-yeop.
In addition to official invitations from major fantastic film festivals worldwide, the film is meeting audiences in theaters in various countries. When it opened in Vietnam on Aug. 25, 2025, reactions such as "Korean horror has a different emotional line" and "It starts with the light approach of a ghost play and ends in real terror" continued, sparking a word-of-mouth craze among local young audiences.
Meanwhile, Gangryeong: Ghost Play is scheduled to open in theaters in Cambodia and will meet overseas fans via theatrical release or VOD in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan and Mongolia.
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