“Always looking for ways to serve you better. You’re gonna love the food!”
“Are you ready for what’s coming?”
Story: Fast food commercials. Aren’t they better than every other commercial? Don’t they make you hungry? Come to Buffet Infinity and take your mind off that weird noise, and all those disappearances! And maybe swing by Ahmed’s Pawn Shop for their crazy huge inventory! Don’t ask why their inventory is so huge, just come out of your house and head on down! Why are you in your house, are you hiding? Don’t hide! Come out!
Scares: An overall sense of dread.
Splat Factor: Head explosion, cannibalism, various other body horror.
Subgenre: Epistolary Horror
Year Released: 2026
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Hoo boy is this original.
Trick or Treat?: Infinity is crazy, disconcerting, and absolutely batshit. And it’s just what the horror genre needs right now; more unique voices creating things we’d never thought of before. This is an epistolary film that lets you connect the dots while you’re desperately wanting more.
Director Simon Glassman takes the vibe of those old local cable commercials and lets you settle into a sense of comfortable nostalgia. Then he slowly turns up the crazy. Strange sounds and static break into the ads, and the ads themselves slowly start to react to what’s going on in the town. Clips from local news stations hint at a horror underlying the suburban tranquility. A tranquility that’s slowly corrupted as the town is taken over by…well, who’s to say? Glassman keeps things rather mysterious, and while you can guess as to what’s happening? That Lovecraftian/alien/techno-horror is tantalizingly elusive.
The cast nails their roles as local business owners who are making their own commercials. The uneven line delivery, overly-enthusiastic pleas for business, and silly stunts are all here. But as the film continues, those media facades drop, leaving individuals just trying to survive. Or warn people of what’s coming, often way too late. Infinity shows people fighting against whatever’s going on, along with those who are trying desperately to adapt. Think David Lynch meets Monty Python in the Backrooms.
I could literally watch hours of this local cable craziness. But at an hour and a half, Glassman knows when to wrap up. The final moments are a strange mix of cultish assimilation and quiet horror that’s equal parts odd and disturbing. Think the “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” jingle, but with teeth. Just be prepared to put all your focus on this one; while the tidbits of trouble slowly grow, you’ll want to experience the full descent into madness this buffet offers up.
Score: 4.5 out of 5 pumpkins.
