Evil Dress (2026) Review

Horror has undergone a revolutionary period in recent years, with a wave of disturbingly visceral films making their mark on the big screen: The Substance, Together and Obsession to name but a few. That said, whilst these films will be forever seared into our minds – delightfully graphic and gruesome as they are – for all the shock-factor, we can’t help but return to minimalist horror. It’s a mode that, rather than relying on elaborate effects and excessive violence, embraces restraint and allows us to revel in the more understated aspects of horror – atmosphere, suspense, and suggestion. The fear does not come from screams, but from silence, not from blood and gore, but through shadows and subtle movements. It’s the quiet moments that leave us with a lingering sense of unease, compelling us to confront our inner fears.

And that is what Jacob Santana so astutely achieves in his 76-minute psychological horror, Evil Dress (El Vestido). Starring Spanish Goya Award-winning actress Belén Rueda (The Orphanage) and rising young actress Vera Centenera, Evil Dress tells the story of mother and daughter Alicia and Carla who flee an abusive husband and father in search of a better life, finding refuge – rather ironically – in an Amityville Horror-style house. Following a framing sequence set in the 1970s, in which two siblings come across a mysterious blue dress in the attic of the same house, the film moves to the present day, where Carla comes across the very same dress. Only now, the dress is seemingly inhabited by a presence that begins to taunt and haunt the mother-daughter duo.

Evil Dress is, in honesty, not a groundbreaking film. In many ways, its premise treads familiar ground: fractured family moves into a bleak house in an oppressive town, the child notably ‘different’ to their classmates and isolated as a result, the inevitable sense that something is lurking in the dark. Yet horror does not always need to offer something entirely new to be effective, nor use shock value to draw in its viewers. Evil Dress may utilise familiar genre tropes, but it does so with care and precision, creating a pervasive sense of entrapment and unease through its carefully controlled colour palette and lighting – kudos to cinematographer Christos Voudouris – its deepening sense of dread, and an impressive soundtrack that understands when silence can be just as effective as sound.

The film echoes the shape and mood of a gothic ghost tale, at times reminiscent of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, and The Others, touching on themes of generational trauma, motherhood, and demonstrating the lengths a mother will go to to protect her child. And whilst Evil Dress may not disrupt the genre in the way others have of late, it still delivers several carefully crafted moments of tension, keeping us on edge and questioning what is going on beneath the surface, strengthened by authentic performances from Rueda and Centenera. However, it’s ultimately the film’s dramatic final twist that sets it apart and adds an interesting new dimension to an otherwise familiar story.

Santana certainly proves his worth with Evil Dress and further cements his place in the Spanish horror genre. I’ll definitely be keeping tabs on whatever he has in store for us next.

Movie Rating:

Evil Dress trailer