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Fantasia Fest 2026: Insectasy Review
Image Credit: Fantasia IFF
Loading...Directed by: Angus Silver
Written by: Angus Silver
Starring:
Tirion Healy – Sadie
Lyndall Huber – Honey
Emmett Roiko – Theo
Kelsey Thompson – Genevieve
Jan Roeth – Julius
Rand Walsh – Arthur Strawberry
Eugenie Frances – Polly
Nazik Edil – Cara
Ronald Puno – Carson
Connor Slatkoff Sharpe – Oliver
Dustin Finerty – Dr. Phoebe
James Jeffery – Angel Kid
Running Time: 83 minutes
Not Rated
Is there anything more delightfully off kilter in cinema than the 1970s erotic thriller? The erotic thriller may have found its heyday in the 1980s, sure. But before Glenn Close was cooking bunnies in Fatal Attraction and a genderbending killer was stalking Angie Dickinson in Dressed to Kill, the erotic thriller and horror filmmakers in the 1970s were doing things that drawing on would have made the murderous couple in Body Heat run screaming.
Insectasy leans hard into those 1970s sensibilities to trigger viewers’ squick factor with an artistic approach. Writer-director Angus Silver’s psychological drama, which premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival, carefully mixes grounded reality with surreal dream sequences and some deeply uncomfortable sex scenes for an unforgettable viewing.
In Insectasy, Sadie (Tirion Healy) is a receptionist at a clinic who has rather unique tastes. She knows how to make her way through society and seem involved; she jokes with her co-worker about the apparent hypochondriac who comes in almost daily, she hangs out with her friends at bars. But those day-to-day interactions are surface level, almost to the point of banality. It’s clear that Sadie keeps herself emotionally distant, unable to find connection or to relate to the people whose lives she remains in the orbit of.
Instead of human connection, Sadie seeks a connection of a very different style. She finds sexual fulfillment through the experience of insects crawling on her skin while she pleasures herself. She has the details of her ritual worked down to a tee in order to accommodate the unique demands of her proclivities.
As revolting as the whole “sex involving insects” part sounds — and indeed, it is — Silver frames the scenes as transgressively sensual and even beautiful. It’s an essential step, as these scenes are when Sadie really comes to life compared to her muted interactions with people. Silver is exploring what drives Sadie to these connections, rather than more normative sexual connections.
Sadie’s world starts to fall apart though as she tries to balance her work, social, and sexual lives. A smoke break flirtation with a man named Theo (Emmett Roiko) leads to a date and ups the ante for her. She visits a pet store and makes a connection with Honey (Lyndall Huber), one of the employees. The more she tries to connect with humanity, the more she starts to spiral as her worlds start to collide in ways that won’t end well for everyone.
While Silver’s direction is inspired, the film wouldn’t work if not for Healy’s performance. Sadie is a heavily internalized character who is trying to hide how deep she’s sinking, and Healy’s careful, nuanced work lets us into a character who would be inscrutable with a lesser performance.
It should go without saying that Insectasy is not for everyone. It’s a weird, surreal film that leans more into psychological drama than it does horror. Silver has made a film that defiantly runs against mainstream sensibilities and dares you to like it or not. (And obviously, if you have a phobia or revulsion toward insects this probably won’t be for you.) But it’s undeniably compelling, exploring Sadie’s sexual proclivities as an allegory for obsession, addiction and the dangers of isolation. It’s a film that will stick with you for quite some time with the themes, Silver’s visuals, and Healy’s performance echoing long after the gross feeling fades.
Fantasia International Film Festival takes place in Montreal, Quebec from July 16th through August 2nd.
