"Il Giorno della Bestia" - Folk Horror Short Film

In 1946, a young couple braves the ascent of a harsh mountain in search of a better future beyond the Italian-French border, but a mysterious guide and a bloodthirsty Beast will put their survival to the test.

THE DAY OF THE BEAST

A Family Story

Hi! My name is Martina, and I’m a director. To me, cinema has always been a way to explore hidden worlds and fantastic creatures that exist only in our imagination.

Artwork by Dante Spada

With The Day of the Beast I wanted to create a dark fantasy rooted in a true story—the story of my paternal grandparents, who crossed the Moncenisio on foot in 1946 to reach France. This tale is very close to my heart, and I chose to turn it into a dark fairy tale, blending reality with fantasy.

SYNOPSIS

1946 - Pregnant and seeking a future beyond the French border, Erminia embarks on a perilous journey through the mountains with her husband, Edoardo. Their guide is Volpe, a woman as wild as the land she treads. When the guards discover them, their escape turns to tragedy: Edoardo is mortally wounded, and as the group takes refuge among ancient sacrificial stones, a shadow emerges from the forest. The Beast, a legendary creature of the mountain, has come to claim its blood tribute.

Artwork by @stagah_artworks

Volpe reveals her secret: for years, she has fed the Beast to protect the villages. But faced with the life growing inside Erminia, something in her shifts. In a final act of defiance, she lures the creature toward herself as Erminia runs for safety.

At dawn, the mountain falls silent. Erminia keeps walking.

In the forest, Volpe is still standing.

The hunt is not over.

THE PROJECT

HELP US BRING THE BEAST TO LIFE!

To create our short film with the quality it deserves, we need your support. With a budget of €25,000, we can fairly compensate everyone involved and, most importantly, bring one of our biggest dreams to life: creating the Beast and bringing it to the screen.

Thanks to the Nuovo IMAIE grant, we’ve already secured €12,500, and regional funding from Piedmont has contributed another €5,000. Now, we need the final €7,500 to complete the project.

Every contribution, big or small, brings us closer to our goal. Support us and become part of this story!

The Beast is about to awaken, and its roar echoes through the mountains. With your help, we can bring this folk horror story to the screen. Support the project and become part of the legend!