Nervous: British-Korean Horror Opens FrightFest 2026

Abner Pastoll's psychological thriller Nervous will have its world premiere at FrightFest in London on 27 August, opening the UK's biggest genre film festival. The film, a rare British-Korean co-production, stars Sarah Bolger as Sarah, who moves to the Korean countryside with her husband Sungsoo (Sungsoo Yune) and becomes entranced by a mysterious gramophone that plays only silence. The cast also includes Go Ah-sung, known for her roles in Bong Joon Ho's The Host and Snowpiercer, as the enigmatic neighbour Eunbyeol. Pastoll, born in South Africa and raised in the UK before settling in Korea, drew inspiration from a news story about a woman who lost the ability to hear male voices. The film's Korean setting emerged naturally after Pastoll discovered a house in Gwangju owned by friends of actor Sungsoo Yune. The production was supported by executive producer Kim Young-min and producer Jang Jun-young, both of whom had prior connections to Pastoll's career. Go Ah-sung was drawn to the film's blend of horror traditions with Korean supernatural elements and the concept of han. Nervous follows Pastoll's 2019 film A Good Woman Is Hard to Find, which closed FrightFest. The festival previously hosted the UK premiere of Train to Busan in 2016. Pastoll plans to make another film in Korea.