Director Agata Trzebuchowska’s previews her new film Sick and talks forbidden desire, body horror, and more (Fantastic Fest 2026)
Writer/director Agata Trzebuchowska’s Sick is a transgressive film that isn’t afraid to tackle taboo subjects. It’s also a film that depicts desire, youth, and aging and has some generally unsettling sequences. The movie stars Konrad Kakol as Maks and Katarzyna Lubik as Maks’ older sister, Emma. One summer, they take care of their aging and ailing grandmother (Monika Niemczyk), who eventually poses a frightening threat to the teens, and isn’t as sick as the siblings initially thought. Yet, the grandmother can also be read as a metaphor for a force that tries to stop the teens from crossing boundaries and succumbing to their desire for each other.
Sick will premiere at Fantastic Fest, and as part of our festival coverage, we chatted with Trzebuchowska about her latest film, including some of the tough themes and subjects that it tackles.
This interview was edited for clarity.
The Horror Lounge: How did come up with the idea for Sick?
Agata Trzebuchowska: I was drawn to this very specific moment of adolescence, when your body and hormones feel like they belong to a stranger. At the exact same time, your world is falling apart in front of your eyes. I wanted to place that inside complete isolation and see how far you could actually drift from yourself when cut off from the outside world. That’s the story behind it.
The Horror Lounge: This film deals with some transgressive and taboo subject matters, including incest. Can you touch upon those and their importance within the film?
Agata Trzebuchowska: I find something very human in incest, even though it’s such a strong taboo. I think there’s something very human to it, maybe because of the forbidden feeling and desire and with this desire comes fear and shame. This very much connects for me with adolescence and how you experience it. I wanted to bring the two themes together and see what this forbidden desire could feel about adolescence and how my characters experience it and what they fear in this specific period of their lives. That’s what drew me to the taboo element.
The Horror Lounge: This is such a small cast and two of your leads, Konrad and Katarzyna, are young. As a director, how did you talk to them about this sort of subject matter and what was it like working with them?
Agata Trzebuchowska: We had a lot of rehearsals and we prepared extensively, even though the production was super swift. I really wanted to have the space and time to work with the actors to talk things through and also to improvise around the scenes. I also wanted to create a very intimate atmosphere in which they felt safe and comfortable. Our production was very small. We had a very limited crew. It definitely helped. For me, the incest reads very metaphorically, and that’s how we approached it when preparing to shoot.
The Horror Lounge: There are some really great practical effects in this. Can you comment on the effects?
Agata Trzebuchowska: I wanted the horror to emerge from those very physical experiences. That’s why I also wanted to work more with practical effects, rather than only digital ones. I also find it very visceral in a way, seeing the transformation happen physically in front of the camera, rather than in post-production. It was very important for me to create as much as possible on set.
The Horror Lounge: Can you comment upon the evolution of the grandmother?
Agata Trzebuchowska: She’s a very reactive character. She basically reacts to the relationship and boundary crossing. That was the idea behind the grandmother character, that she kind of reacts and tries to stop what’s happening between the siblings. At the same time, in a way, she also enhances the feeling because she makes it forbidden even more. It makes it even more attractive in a way.
She’s also kind of a manifestation of Maks’ fears. I wanted those fears to be as external as possible by the end of the film and as physical as possible. That’s why I needed this transformation.
The Horror Lounge: Another key element of the film is the isolated setting and the grandmother’s house. How did you find the house and the location?
Agata Trzebuchowska: We were very lucky with this location. We were looking for something in the specific area because we already had the base there for the crew. We just came across this house, and it belongs to a very famous Polish cinematographer, but the house itself was pretty run down. We had to bring it back to life in a way. I’ll also add that we didn’t have set designers, so I did the set design myself with a cinematographer. We basically tried to maintain this very unique quality that the house had, of being an old, pretty gloomy house, but also with a unique layout. You can walk around it in a loop, and in a way, it makes me think of a snake.
The snake was also a representation for the grandmother character, so it totally made sense for me. It makes the house feel like another character.
The Horror Lounge: As a director, what are you hoping audiences take away from the film at Fantastic Fest and beyond?
Agata Trzebuchowska: My goal is not to tell the viewers what to think or what to feel, but I’m totally aware that this thing can involve very different emotions in the audiences. I’m ready for it. I would like them to experience the film in their own way and react spontaneously and react honestly to what they see and experience on the screen. I also believe that this film talks more through emotions and images, rather than through intellectual statements or moral verdicts. I just hope the viewers will sit with whatever comes to them.
Sick will premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 18 and then screen again on September 24. Keep an eye out for The Horror Lounge's review of the film after its premiere.
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