The project is framed as a visually rich, culturally authentic horror experience that brings the unique mythology of the Hungry Ghost Festival to a global audience for the first time.
Industry insiders are buzzing about the aggressive financing push. With Abnormal Studios handling worldwide sales and Clover Films already locking down Southeast Asian rights, the race to close the final funding gaps is heating up at Busan.
Producer Harrison Allen won the Live Action Short Oscar this year for Netflix's 'The Singers.' Hidalgo's 'The Exorcism of God' sold to over 150 countries and was the highest-grossing Latin American film worldwide in 2022.
Hidalgo is betting big on Malaysian folklore, and with an Oscar-winner and a Sundance fellow attached, this isn't just a ghost story—it's a serious cash grab waiting to happen.
Alejandro Hidalgo, the Venezuelan director who turned religious horror into a global box office phenomenon with "The Exorcism of God," is officially pivoting to Southeast Asian folklore. On October 10, 2026, Variety reported that Hidalgo will helm "The Hungry One," a supernatural horror thriller set against the backdrop of Malaysia’s Hungry Ghost Festival. This isn't just another jump-scare fest; it’s a calculated move by a director who knows exactly how to package cultural mythology for international consumption.
The film follows Emily, an American woman who travels with her Chinese Malaysian husband, Simon, and their son, Louis, to his family’s mansion. Their summer stay collides with the 15-day festival, a period when the underworld is believed to open, allowing the dead to mingle with the living. Emily becomes the target of a vengeful presence trying to cross over, forcing her to dig into the house’s hidden past before it consumes her family.
The project is being driven by filmmaker and entrepreneur Justin Leong through Los Angeles-based Lightning Pictures, with Kuala Lumpur-based Abnormal Studios handling worldwide sales. The team is currently introducing the project at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents & Film Market, signaling serious intent to lock down international distribution deals before cameras even roll. Leong, who has deep ties to Malaysian-Chinese culture, stated, "Growing up in Asia, I always felt the Hungry Ghost Festival was incredibly rich visually, from the fire and offerings to the rituals and mythology behind it.
When you capture that and shoot it cinematically, it’s movie gold. It gives us a world that audiences may not have seen before, but one that feels immediately atmospheric, mysterious and made for horror." This quote underscores the marketing angle: selling the exotic and the unseen to a jaded horror market. What makes this announcement particularly spicy is the pedigree of the attached talent.
Producer Harrison Allen, who won the Live Action Short Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards for the Netflix title "The Singers," is on board. His involvement lends immediate prestige and financial credibility to a project that is still in pre-production, with producers reportedly working to secure the last portion of its financing. Additionally, Thomas Percy Kim, a Sundance and Toronto fellow whose debut feature "Isle Child" premiered in Toronto, is attached.
Screenwriter Justin Parker, known for his work on HBO’s Emmy-nominated limited series "Station Eleven" and the docuseries "Religion of Sports," is also contributing to the script. This is a heavyweight team assembling in the shadows of Busan, aiming to create a horror property that transcends regional boundaries. The commercial stakes are high.
Hidalgo’s previous film, "The Exorcism of God," bowed at Fantastic Fest and went on to sell to more than 150 countries, with Saban Films handling its U.S. theatrical release. It ended 2022 as the highest-grossing Latin American film worldwide, proving that Hidalgo can deliver massive returns on relatively modest budgets. His first feature, "The House at the End of Time," remains Venezuela’s biggest horror hit at the box office.
With Singapore-based Clover Films already picking up rights for Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the film has a guaranteed regional launchpad. Abnormal Studios, a subsidiary of Westec Media Limited, has handled more than 400 titles since 2020 and releases around 100 films a year across Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Nepal. If "The Hungry One" captures even a fraction of the global reach of "The Exorcism of God," it will be a monster hit.
The tea here is that while the horror genre is crowded, the specific niche of Asian festival mythology is still largely untapped in high-budget international productions. Hidalgo and his team are betting that the visual spectacle of the Hungry Ghost Festival—fire, offerings, and rituals—will provide the fresh aesthetic horror fans are desperate for.
