Five FrightFest Facts with Villablanca from ‘Healing Andy’

Some break-ups call for ice cream, others for tequila – and then there’s Healing Andy, which throws its heartbroken protagonist headfirst into a chaos-soaked Italian “bros trip” that makes The Hangover look tame. Part horror, part comedy, and all captured on a single iPhone, Villablanca’s debut feature turns influencer culture, toxic masculinity and rebound romance into a darkly funny, spiralling nightmare. What begins as a misguided attempt to patch up a dumped groom’s bruised ego soon slides into cosmic horror and surreal paranoia, fuelled by viral clout-chasing and the arrival of one particularly unsettling stranger.

Sitting proudly in FrightFest’s First Blood strand, Healing Andy feels like a bold new mutation of the found-footage tradition – low-fi in form, but sharp in satire and relentless in its genre-bending energy. Villablanca, who wrote, directed, produced and even edited the film, has crafted something that’s as chaotic as it is personal, pulling from his lifelong obsession with cinema to deliver a story that feels both unhinged and strangely relatable.

In this Five FrightFest Facts interview, Villablanca talks about the Spielberg box set that set him on the path to filmmaking, the underseen horror gem he thinks deserves a FrightFest audience, and why he believes the festival should one day hand out an award for Best Villain.

Villablanca, writer-director

1. Tell us about your film

Healing Andy follows four friends trying to lift their mate’s spirits after he’s brutally dumped by his fiancée just a week before his wedding. Instead of a honeymoon, the boys take him on an impromptu “bros trip” to help him heal – but things spiral out of control when they get entangled with a group of mysterious local women, and Andy falls hard and fast for one of them. It’s a darkly funny, horror infused, influencer era spin on The Hangover, told entirely through a found footage format and all captured on an iPhone. It’s a true unicorn in the genre.

2. How did you get into making movies?

I’ve wanted to make films for as long as I can remember. I was that kid who would come home from school and watch a movie every single day. I think it really clicked when I was about eight or nine, and someone gave me a Spielberg box set as a gift. I must have watched those films on loop for two straight years, completely mesmerized. That was the moment I realized – this isn’t just something I love, this is what I want to do with my life. So yeah, it’s been a long and obsessive relationship with filmmaking ever since. Thank you Steven.

3. What films would you love to see screened at FrightFest and why?

FrightFest already has fantastic taste in curation, but one film that I feel flew under the radar and would’ve fit the festival perfectly is The Coffee Table – a Spanish horror from 2022. It’s dark, brutal, somewhat funny even – and completely messed up in the best way possible. Definitely not for everyone, but if there’s any audience that could stomach and appreciate its twisted genius, it’s the FrightFest crowd.

4. If you could create your own award to give at FrightFest, what would it be and why?

Easy – Best Villain. Horror is a genre defined by its villains. Mike Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Ghostface, Leatherface, Art the Clown, you name it! It’s those unforgettable antagonists that often drive the story and stay with us long after the credits roll. A great villain can turn a good horror into a cult classic and… into a Halloween costume for the ages. And if FrightFest ever does introduce that award… please credit me for the idea! Haha.

5. If your life was made into a horror film, what would it be called and who would play the starring role?

It would definitely be called Healing Villablanca, a spinoff to Healing Andy. There’s a bit of me in every character in that film, so it feels fitting. As for who would play me? I’d love to see someone like Josh O’Connor in the role. He’s an incredible actor with so much range, and we haven’t really seen him go full horror yet. So Josh, if you’re reading this – I’ve got a script with your name on it!

Healing Andy receives its world premiere at FrightFest on 23 August 2025.

Healing Andy trailer