The distressing new movie that’ll make you gasp louder than ever

Distressing film has a 100 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score

(The Match Factory)

Film fans are eagerly awaiting an “unforgettable” psychological drama that is making viewers gasp louder than ever.

Sirât was one of the first premieres at the 2025 run of Cannes Film Festival and, regardless of what people thought of the film, it was commonly agreed that it’s something that needs to be experienced

Directed by French-Spanish filmmaker Óliver Laxe, Sirât follows Luis (Sergi López) as a father who, along with his young son Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona), searches for his missing daughter.

Luis and Esteban’s hunt bring them to an illegal rave in the Moroccan desert where she was last seen.

The film begins as Luis and Esteban hand out photos to revellers as they dance – but a chance encounter tips them off to another rave deeper in the heart of the desert.

As their search continues, the perceived safety provided by the film’s supporting characters is superseded by horror several times, creating an unrivalled sense of dread; Sirât is a slow-burn Sorcerer-esque descent into hell that caused some of the biggest gasps we have heard in a cinema.

The film has been widely acclaimed by critics. A compilation of film reviewers’ rankings, amassed by IndieWire, ranks Sirât as the best film of Cannes 2025 – placing it above Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value and Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident.

After 33 reviews, the film has a perfect 100 per score on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, with the film’s sound design by Laia Casanova being particularly hailed.

Time Out’s John Bleasdale said that your enjoyment of the film “will depend on how far you’re willing to go with the wild swings the film takes in its second half”, describing it as “The Wages of Fear meets The Vanishing on shrooms”.

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Elsewhere, Cineuropa ’s Fabien Lemercier called it “unforgettable” and “experiential”, while Jessica Kiang, writing for Variety, said Sirât is a “brilliantly bizarre, cult-ready vision of human psychology tested to its limits”.

‘Sirât’ was one of the best films at Cannes 2025 (The Match Factory)

The film is yet to receive a release date, but it has been picked up for distribution in the UK by Altitude and by Neon in the US.