Fantastic Fest 2026 Review: ÜREI is a Dreamy Mystery Rooted in the Horror of Past Traumas

There is something uniquely scary about being held at the whim of another person who is not in their right mind. Horror has returned to this concept again and again, particularly when the aggressor is an elderly person. Watching characters on the receiving end of the effects of someone losing hold of their mind and their sense of self and becoming someone else entirely is frightening. But the opposite is also true. Watching the aggressive character lose control and succumb to their own demons can be just as frightening. Directed by Yerkezhan Baighan (adapted from her 2024 short film), Ürei takes the premise of an elderly woman losing touch with reality and uses it as the centerpiece for a slowburn, thoughtful story of family, trauma, and grief.

After Kalima (Akerke Kozaiyr) is caught drinking with some friends, her fed-up parents decide that she should spend some time in the country with her grandmother. They have had it with her attitude, her spoiled nature, and her antics. At least that is what they are communicating to her and to the audience. In reality, Kalima seems like a pretty good kid, who is constantly at odds with her mother, Aliya (Akerke Kozaiyr). Aliya is overly critical and Kalima is frequently on the receiving end of her insults and jabs. Her father is not as present as he could be, which is another thing that is disrupting the family dynamic (and is really more at the root of Aliya’s unhappiness). But she decides that their daughter is to blame, so out to Grandma’s rural village we go.

Kalima settles in and her grandmother, Amina (Tynyshgul Sultanberdieva), immediately begins doting on her. She cooks her favorite food for dinner. She tells her not to worry about the harsh words she receives from her parents. She is just happy to have “her baby” here with her. 

At night, though, Amina begins behaving strangely. Kalima can hear her crying out through her closed bedroom door. When she asks her about it the next morning, Amina sharply dismisses it as “nothing.” One night, Kalima finds her grandmother sleepwalking out by a nearby pond. Again, Amina tells her to mind her own business. As the days slip by and Amina behaves more and more strangely, we see bits of memory: a boy sitting alone outside the house and the harsh words of an angry mother. We hear her muttering strange things like “He’s coming” and “Forgive me.” Eventually, these memories reach the surface and she begins acting them out on Kalima.

Ürei is a complex story of trauma upon trauma upon trauma. At times it can be difficult to watch, as the sadness and anger at its core are palpable, but it is also an interesting story and you find yourself wrapped up in its mystery. We are frightened for Kalima, but we are also frightened for Amina and the strange things she seems to be experiencing. This isn’t a simple story of old people going crazy. It is grounded in a real history that the character has experienced and that is now forcing itself back into her life. Sure, some of the more horror-centered scenes will be a little familiar, but it’s the mystery at the heart of this film, and the way that story unfolds that makes Ürei stand apart and feel unique. 

The truth at the heart of the film unfolds slowly and deliberately. It resists the urge to dive into hagsploitation as Amina falls deeper and deeper into the prison of her own mind. Instead, it thoughtfully brings you into the layered trauma that is affecting this family. It illustrates how something that Amina experienced all those years ago went on to impact Aliya, who is in turn, acting out that aggression on Kalima. Everything we see onscreen has a purpose, even if it is not apparent. And Yerkezhan Baighan takes us through it piece by piece.

Supporting the mystery lurking beneath the surface is the scoring by Abai Akbaev. The piano theme that is heard throughout the film initially feels upbeat and happy, but there is something sinister lurking underneath. It hints at the layers of mystery and secrets that surround this story, and keeps the audience a bit on edge as everything develops. 

There is a lot to grab onto here, and the unique way that Baighan tells the story really gives each layer of the film its own space in which to breathe. Kalima is our focal point and we are horrified by what she experiences at Amina’s hands, but the heart of the story is what Amina experienced decades ago, and has kept secret ever since. That initial horror is now echoing back through her life, and affecting family members who were not even alive to witness it. The tragedy of her past has become the horror of her granddaughter’s present, and will haunt audiences as much as it haunts its characters.

Movie Score: 4/5