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Malu is on the verge of the abyss, overwhelmed by past trauma and a rebellious child. When a strange curse turns toilets into deadly monsters, she is plunged into a surreal nightmare where motherhood, grief, and existential terror cannot simply be brushed aside.

With Bowels of Hell (Privadas de Suas Vidas), Gustavo Vinagre and Gurcius Gewdner offer a horror comedy that shows just how much life is shit. 😉

Not Very Shocking

In selecting Bowels of Hell, I was hoping to stumble upon a film that would push the envelope like Night of the Virgin, which I saw in 2017. But the film by Gustavo Vinagre and Gurcius Gewdner remains very soft.

Yes, there are ideas that might shock a few, but for a Fantasia cinephile, it doesn’t go far enough.

A film that deals with poop and the murders related to it should offer unsettling and disturbing imagery. The furthest we go in this direction is creating a certain unease by showing us the faces of women sitting on the toilet, and twice, turd in the bowl. And these moments aren’t even realistic enough to make you believe them.

It would have been a winning move to go further into the eruptions of poop and vomit. As long as you’re making a scatological film, you might as well push the madness all the way. Otherwise, it just becomes a slightly ridiculous film. In the end, no retching or semblance of pain was felt.

A Few Touches of Originality

Despite the disappointment, there were a few touches of originality in Bowels of Hell. To begin with, the idea of killer toilets was quite… singular. Without saying that the technique used by these assassins was realistic, I would say the idea was well-crafted. Certain scenes were actually quite pleasant to watch.

The directors also anchor their work in a very current reality by integrating a mother-child relationship in which misunderstanding creates good tension. Malu’s daughter declares herself non-binary, which bothers her mother, but not as much as the fact that this child has also changed her name. It is a fact that for many parents, the choice of their child’s first name is very sensitive. Thus, through this theme, the directors insert relevant questions into today’s world.

There is also the final combat scene that stirs up a lot of crap and, as a result, is worth the watch. But it pretty much stops there.

Bowels of Hell is presented at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 31, 2026.

Trailer