Variety has published its review of Ferine, the debut feature from Italian writer-director Andrea Corsini, on 30 July 2026 — the same day the film's festival momentum is still building from a strong Fantasia International Film Festival run.

Ferine is a 106-minute psychological horror film set in Italy, following a wealthy foreigner who goes feral. It deals in themes of pregnancy, motherhood, and creature transformation, and opens with a quotation from the philosopher Schopenhauer. The Variety review draws a comparison to Paul Schrader's 1982 film Cat People — a film similarly preoccupied with the animal beneath the human skin (Variety).

The film had its world premiere in the Cheval Noir Competition section at Montreal's Fantasia festival, where it picked up two awards: best cinematography, awarded to Fabrizio La Palombara, and best score, awarded to veteran composer Pino Donaggio (Variety; ScreenAnarchy). Donaggio's career as a composer stretches back to the 1970s; his hiring signals the production's ambition to give the film a textured, orchestral soundscape rather than a standard genre score.

Irish actor Carolyn Bracken stars in the dual-named role of Irina/Irene. Bracken is building a reputation for playing doubles — she previously took on twin roles in Damian McCarthy's Oddity (Variety). The ensemble also includes Marco Gambino as Alfredo, a high-end gallerist; Ilario Calvo as Till; Uliana Kuzmina as Anita; Paola Lavini as Rosa; Caroline Goodall as Dama; Elodie Gay and Fabrizio Odetto as Giulia's neglectful mother and father; and Elisabetta Caccamo as the child Giulia.

Corsini co-wrote the script with Massimo Vavassori. Ferine is Corsini's first English-language feature and expands on his 2019 short film of the same name — a project he first developed through the Frontières co-production market, an industry event that connects genre film-makers with financiers and sales agents (Variety). His earlier short work includes Non nel mio giardino from 2011 (IMDb).

The film's path to screens has included a title change and an early sales push. It was formerly known as Beasts of Prey when PiperFilm boarded it for international sales at the American Film Market in November 2024. Adler Entertainment had planned a 2025 release in Italy (Variety).

What makes Ferine stand out on the festival circuit is the gap it fills in contemporary Italian genre cinema. Screen Daily, reviewing the film on 23 July, described it as a "lush modern giallo" — a reference to the Italian thriller tradition known for stylised violence and vivid colour (Screen Daily). With its Fantasia prizes, a Donaggio score, and now a major-trade review, Corsini's debut has the kind of festival-to-market visibility that sales agents use to build a case for wider distribution.