• LIKE on Facebook • FOLLOW on X/Twitter • FOLLOW on Instagram

• SUBSCRIBE on YouTube • BUY ME A COFFEE on Ko-Fi

Stars: Miguel Lago Casal, Paula Gallego
Director: Victor Catala
Producer: Aday Entertainment

“They are calling again.”

Visually reminiscent of The Fog – that also played at this year’s Grimmfest – Los que vienen aka They Always Come at Night featured in the afternoon of the last day of the 2026 festival to a sell-out crowd.

Set way back in 1976 Galicia, Spain, Miguel (Miguel Lago Casal) and Neves (Lucia Veiga) are preparing a family dinner for the return of their daughter, Diana (Paula Gallego) along with her fiance Antonio (Daniel Arias). What at first seems like a normal evening, the mood begins to go downhill once Miguel receives an abundance of phone calls from his distressed friend, Julio (Antonio Duran Morris). Insistent that he is under attack from demons of the night, Julio’s dread and dismay begins to have an effect on the calmness of Miguel. Once Diana and Antonio arrive, the terror over the phone fails to stop; if anything, it worsens.

As Julo’s terror worsens, the anxiety increases, and the nighttime draws closer, a mythical fog increases its presence around the family home, thus establishing an atmosphere absorbed by both the characters and viewing audience. As the evening creeps on, the individual characters adapt to the darkening evironment with increased openness to either their back story or true feelings. A family drama like no other.

Unfortunately for this film, its title offers much more that it can give. Fortunately, there are several redeemable factors that can overshadow the disappointment caused by its title. They Always Come at Night is one of the slowest burns this year. The technique in which director Victor Catala is able to establish a dreaded ambiance and an increasing atmospheric tension, is quite special. In accompanying those feelings, They Always Come at Night is a beautiful film to observe. Its cinematography views in the vein of a wonderful reproduction of a time gone by.

Ultimately, They Always Come at Night is not the go-to film when anticipating a night of continuous zombie battles and death. Instead, what we have is the spectacle of dread, executed magnificently by Miguel Lago Casal. His performance is the driving force and conductor behind the tension and tonal evolution of this film.