The Forbidden Lands (2026) by Mattia De Pascali

Director: Mattia De Pascali

Year: 2026

Country: Italy

Alternate Titles: Le Terre Incolta

Genre: Supernatural

Plot:

Living in a small Italian village, residents become unnerved when a series of disappearances starts to invoke fears of something otherworldly happening around them, but when a special envoy arrives claiming to be from God, the mystery grows into something far more deadly in the village.

Review:

Overall, this was a massively entertaining effort with a lot to like about it. One of the better elements for this one comes from the fantastic setup that allows this one to work in some intriguing factors throughout here. The starting point, looking at the history of the village and the remote lives they lead out in the middle of nowhere, a place run rampant with superstition and fear that still runs people out of town for heresy or witchcraft to live out in the woods, offering the kind of standout starting point to make sure the supernatural incidents have a fine grounding.

Exploring the kind of village mindset where the first sign of anything is the work of troubled outsiders looking to do them harm, and being forced to accept the kind of mindset that puts everything in their twisted beliefs, as it does here, where the tragedies are so shocking and horrific that they welcome the emissary and his assistant to help right them along a more righteous path. Even more, that causes the hysteria and paranoia to surface once again, involving the strange deaths in the community and the fervent desire to punish those they think are the guilty party, regardless of how much evidence points to the contrary, as it’s all about how much they believe in it.

Due to this almost indifferent attitude to the presence of evil and how it affects the world as a whole, the outbursts of violence here are handled incredibly well. The initial discoveries of the various dead bodies around the village and the mutilated states they’re found in are rather fun in getting things off to a fine start, especially with the continued belief in the promises made by the envoy through the community which helps to make the later scenes involving the series of attacks by the outsiders feel that much more prominent in the later half where the witch hunts being carried out here become far more impactful.

While they work incredibly well when they occur, the frequency of them all becomes a bit of a problem, with the majority of this delving into extended bits focusing on their treatment of the outsiders in the woods of the village and their beliefs regarding the different forces at work around them, instead of bringing up more overt carnage and genre fare. This can make the film run a bit sluggish for some, expecting more action regarding the villagers getting involved, but it’s not enough to lower this one overall compared to the other fun parts here.

Overview: ***.5/5

A rather strong and likable folk-horror genre effort, there’s a lot to like here in how this builds up over time and gets itself into position to do something interesting, even if it’s not as energetic as some might like. Those who appreciate the style approached here or who are curious about it will have a lot to like with this one, while most others out there should heed caution.