Argentine Shocker ‘Hotline’ Turns Phone Calls Into A Hunt

A new trailer has been released for Hotline, an Argentine horror thriller that draws on the visual and thematic traditions of Italian giallo while placing its story within the neon-lit nightlife of late 1980s Buenos Aires. Directed by Nicanor Loreti and written alongside Paula Manzone, the film centres on a performer whose routine is disrupted by a series of increasingly disturbing phone calls.

Magui Bravi leads the cast as Malena, a cabaret dancer who also works as an erotic hotline operator. The film’s premise unfolds when she receives a call from a man who calmly claims responsibility for a string of murders across the city. As the conversations continue, the caller begins to describe his crimes in detail before warning that she will be his next target. What begins as an unsettling exchange escalates into a pursuit that unfolds across both physical and psychological space.

Hotline positions itself within a lineage of stylised thrillers, with clear visual references to the colour-driven aesthetic associated with 1970s European horror cinema. At the same time, the film integrates contemporary pacing and structure, building tension through repeated interactions between Malena and the unseen voice on the line. The narrative framework hinges on surveillance, performance and vulnerability, placing the protagonist in a role where communication itself becomes a point of danger.

Loreti, whose previous credits include Diablo and Kryptonite, brings experience from Argentina’s genre scene, while the film’s cast includes performers associated with recent international successes such as When Evil Lurks. Demián Salomón and María Eugenia Rigon appear alongside Bravi, contributing to a production that blends established talent with emerging voices from the region.

The film’s setting plays a central role in shaping its tone. Buenos Aires is depicted through a stylised lens that emphasises nightlife, isolation and shifting identities, with the hotline concept anchoring the story in a pre-digital era of communication. This choice reinforces the immediacy of each interaction, where every call narrows the distance between predator and target.

We’ll share more news on the release as it comes.

Hotline trailer