Grimmfest’s Grim Tidings from Abel Ferry, Director of ‘Squealers’

Premiering at Grimmfest, Abel Ferry’s Squealers – or Gibier in its original French – is a brutal, blood-soaked descent into moral grey zones, meat industry corruption, and rural justice gone feral. Unflinching, politically barbed, and searingly relevant, the film positions itself somewhere between The Most Dangerous Game, Straw Dogs and Martyrs, though filtered through a distinctly Gallic sense of social satire.

A veteran of both French television and cult genre cinema (High Lane remains a fondly remembered mountain-horror gem), Ferry returns to his darker instincts here – crafting a film that’s as visceral as it is provocative. Set against the stark backdrop of a rural slaughterhouse turned battleground, Squealers doesn’t just challenge the stomach, it dares the audience to examine their own convictions. In true Grimmfest fashion, it’s as gruesome as it is gripping.

We caught up with Ferry after the film’s electrifying UK premiere to talk Cronenberg, gastric juices, and why the grimmest horrors often lie beyond the screen.

Grimmfest’s Grim Tidings from Abel Ferry, Director of ‘Squealers’

How did you get into horror?

Probably because I saw David Crononberg’s The Fly. It was a cinematic shock when I saw it in a movie theatre in 1987, at 13. Having never seen a horror film before, I spent the night awake. This film, because it is above all a wonderful love story, made me realise that horror movies can give strong emotions other than visceral fear. Horror movies are not only pure entertainment, they can be as powerful and as touching as more traditional films.

What scares you the most?

Working in the movie business is a good training to never being afraid of anything, but… It’s not very original, but probably losing someone I love – especially my kid.

Who or what is your favourite horror character?

Because of The Fly, I would say Seth Brundle and his gastric juices…

What is the grimmest thing you have ever seen?

Real dead bodies of people I loved. Real life is, most of the time, more awful than horror movies.