Following its Fantastic Fest premiere, psychological horror-thriller 'HOBA' will hit UAE cinemas on October 30, 2025.
Emirati filmmaker Majid Al Ansari’s psychological horror-thriller The Vile (HOBA) has claimed the Best Horror Feature award at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. The festival, known as one of the world’s major platforms for bold and boundary-pushing cinema, marked a significant milestone for the UAE director.
The Vile has already secured US distribution, making it the first Emirati film to get such a deal. It is also scheduled to screen at the London Film Festival next month before its UAE cinema release just ahead of Halloween.
This marks Al Ansari’s second directorial feature, following his acclaimed debut Zinzana, a crime thriller that also premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2015.
Set to release in the UAE under the title HOBA on October 30, the film follows the story of Amani (Emirati actress Bdoor Mohammed), a devoted wife whose world unravels when her husband returns home with a second wife, Zahra (Sarah Taibah, Saudi filmmaker and artist). But with Zahra comes something far more sinister, an unseen darkness that begins to consume their home, testing the limits of loyalty, love and survival.
Marking the first Arabic-language Emirati feature on the Image Nation AD and Spooky Pictures slate, HOBA delivers a haunting, atmospheric story steeped in tension and emotional depth.
The cast also features Eman Tarik as Noor, Amani’s daughter, and Jasem AlKharraz as her father Khalid. Behind the camera, Majid Al Ansari is joined by powerhouse producers Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Derek Dauchy and Rami Yasin, with Mohamed Hefzy and Yasir Al Yasiri as executive producers.
