Bowels of Hell (2026)
In comedy, bathroom humor is often considered one of the lowest forms of entertainment. Outside of the filmographies of Adam Sandler and the Jackass crew, few filmmakers have made a career covered in poop without being rejected by wide audiences. Screening as part of the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival, Gustavo Vinagre and Gurcius Gewdner's Bowels of Hell embraces potty humor as the bathrooms at an apartment complex grow vicious and begin spilling the blood of their users. Included in the complex is Malu (Martha Nowill), who is in charge of planning the gender reveal party for a famous influencer also living in the apartments. Malu is not only stressed about planning the party, but also is dealing with her child, Genesis (Benjamín Damini), coming out as non-binary. Malu rejects this identity, thinking Genesis is just rebelling and trying to make her life difficult, causing a rift between the pair to split.
There is no hiding that unless one can stomach graphic bathroom humor, there is no point in even trying to get through Bowels of Hell. Filled with non-stop pooping and vomiting, the film is one of the grossest horror films of the year with completely practical filth that keeps getting more and more explosive as the runtime goes on. While the practical gore is quite impressive, the film is visually disgusting, only appealing to a select type of horror fan.
However, the feces being flung throughout the film is luckily not just for the shits and giggles. Slowly, Bowels of Hell reveals itself to be quite an intelligent film with plenty being pushed through its system. The character of Malu is a complex one, dealing with the trigger of previous trauma from her other child's toilet-related death and the pressure she feels trying to belong to a world of greater popularity and power than she has experienced before. Malu is a character who becomes blinded by her situation, becoming so obsessed with the lives of the seemingly perfect couple she is working for that she tries to ignore the complexity of the reality of her family, who are right in front of her.
Specifically, the relationship she shares with Genesis is heartbreaking at times, constantly misgendering them and acting deaf as they try to share their identity struggles. Malu tries to push Genesis to the side, even going as far as to lock them in the bathroom during the gender reveal party out of fear that they will mess something up. This is a difficult dynamic to pull off without fully villainizing Malu, but both the screenplay and Nowill's performance allow for something more mature and nuanced to be discovered. It also cannot be overstated how crucial Damini's performance is for the film, giving a film about graphic bowel movements and killer toilets a shocking amount of heart.
This angle is when the film is at its best. Absurdity as a vehicle for grounded reflection is an equation that leads to some of cinema's most unique and powerful expressions. Sadly, it would be a lie to say that Bowels of Hell is this clean. The film bites off a lot, trying to touch on various other topics including class, education, social media, and more without the proper time or openings to give these conversations the focus they deserve. The pacing of the film is uneven to say the least, jumping between so many tones and thoughts that things threaten to become overly erratic at multiple points. It is also hard to argue that going from scenes of real emotion to a man unleashing explosive poop into a toilet doesn't weaken the impact of even the best scenes.
Visually, beyond the graphic bodily fluids and solids the film spurts, the film is well made. The apartment complex is well designed, offering a visual juxtaposition between the working class and the wealthy that plays well with the film's social interests. The uses of color and production design are all well done, and at no point does the film come off as cheap in the way many might expect due to its premise.
While many will walk into Bowels of Hell and expect some cheap and trashy bathroom trip, it is actually remarkable how much the film is able to get right. While messy, the film finds a genuine heart and has plenty on its mind. While no one should go into the explosive poop killer toilet and expect high art, the film feels more aligned with the modern-inspired queer works of Bertrand Mandico and Bruce LaBruce, Bruce actually appears in the film, than the empty horror film some might be expecting. For those willing to give the film a shot, just make sure that you are physically prepared for the ride being offered, because Steve-O's Poo Cocktail Supreme looks like child's play in comparison to what is shown here.
There is no hiding that unless one can stomach graphic bathroom humor, there is no point in even trying to get through Bowels of Hell. Filled with non-stop pooping and vomiting, the film is one of the grossest horror films of the year with completely practical filth that keeps getting more and more explosive as the runtime goes on. While the practical gore is quite impressive, the film is visually disgusting, only appealing to a select type of horror fan.
However, the feces being flung throughout the film is luckily not just for the shits and giggles. Slowly, Bowels of Hell reveals itself to be quite an intelligent film with plenty being pushed through its system. The character of Malu is a complex one, dealing with the trigger of previous trauma from her other child's toilet-related death and the pressure she feels trying to belong to a world of greater popularity and power than she has experienced before. Malu is a character who becomes blinded by her situation, becoming so obsessed with the lives of the seemingly perfect couple she is working for that she tries to ignore the complexity of the reality of her family, who are right in front of her.
Specifically, the relationship she shares with Genesis is heartbreaking at times, constantly misgendering them and acting deaf as they try to share their identity struggles. Malu tries to push Genesis to the side, even going as far as to lock them in the bathroom during the gender reveal party out of fear that they will mess something up. This is a difficult dynamic to pull off without fully villainizing Malu, but both the screenplay and Nowill's performance allow for something more mature and nuanced to be discovered. It also cannot be overstated how crucial Damini's performance is for the film, giving a film about graphic bowel movements and killer toilets a shocking amount of heart.
This angle is when the film is at its best. Absurdity as a vehicle for grounded reflection is an equation that leads to some of cinema's most unique and powerful expressions. Sadly, it would be a lie to say that Bowels of Hell is this clean. The film bites off a lot, trying to touch on various other topics including class, education, social media, and more without the proper time or openings to give these conversations the focus they deserve. The pacing of the film is uneven to say the least, jumping between so many tones and thoughts that things threaten to become overly erratic at multiple points. It is also hard to argue that going from scenes of real emotion to a man unleashing explosive poop into a toilet doesn't weaken the impact of even the best scenes.
Visually, beyond the graphic bodily fluids and solids the film spurts, the film is well made. The apartment complex is well designed, offering a visual juxtaposition between the working class and the wealthy that plays well with the film's social interests. The uses of color and production design are all well done, and at no point does the film come off as cheap in the way many might expect due to its premise.
While many will walk into Bowels of Hell and expect some cheap and trashy bathroom trip, it is actually remarkable how much the film is able to get right. While messy, the film finds a genuine heart and has plenty on its mind. While no one should go into the explosive poop killer toilet and expect high art, the film feels more aligned with the modern-inspired queer works of Bertrand Mandico and Bruce LaBruce, Bruce actually appears in the film, than the empty horror film some might be expecting. For those willing to give the film a shot, just make sure that you are physically prepared for the ride being offered, because Steve-O's Poo Cocktail Supreme looks like child's play in comparison to what is shown here.