[FrightFest 2026]: Invoking Scream

Paulina played by Luna Martínez

Following on from 2023’s Black Metal horror Invoking Yell and having its world premiere at this year’s FrightFest, is Patricio Valladare’s sequel Invoking Scream which picks up after the events of the previous film, as the cousin of the band’s lead singer seeks to investigate what happened in the lead up to Andrea Fernandez’s mysterious disappearance. 

A group of three metalheads consisting of Paulina (Luna Martínez), Camila (Teresita Rìos) and Nico (Matías López) head into the forest to shoot a documentary attempting to uncover the mystery behind the vanishing of Invoking Yell’s vocalist, and the violent deaths of her bandmates, who had traversed through the same forest in order to record a demo tape. At the sight of Andrea’s memorial site, the trio discover a cursed VHS tape and a book of witchcraft. Unbeknownst to them, they unleash a dark and evil force which demands a sacrifice from the group.

Paulina (Luna Martínez), Camila (Teresita Rìos) and Nico (Matías López)

When the Chilean Invoking Yell burst forth into the horror cinema sphere in all its corpse painted glory, with a banging black metal soundtrack, and female led characterisation, it was a success story for independent DIY horror filmmaking, as well as a unique take on the found footage in the woods format. And whilst the first film didn’t necessarily have the need for a sequel, the urban legend-ification of the original band’s trip into the forest is an interesting perspective for Invoking Scream to take on. The investigating trio have a good dynamic, even through the chaos of a murderous curse, and are quite reminiscent of the documentarians from 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, and the film holds onto that lo-fi quality that endeared the first movie to fans. 

Invoking Scream unfortunately lacks that heavy metal spirit that made Invoking Yell so special, and so it loses that unique quality that grabbed the attention of both metal and horror lovers alike. But for admirers of the found footage medium, Invoking Scream is a perfectly competent and enjoyable exploration of the dangers of idolisation, something the Black metal community know all too well.

3 Screams out of 5