Full Breakdown
Oscilloscope Laboratories Secures North American Rights to Horror-Genre Debut “Bagworm”
7/13/2026, 8:34:01 PM
Acquisition and Upcoming Release
Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired the North American distribution rights to *Bagworm*, the feature-film debut of director Oliver Bernsen and writer Henry Bernsen. The company plans a theatrical rollout in the winter of 2026 after the title completes its festival circuit.
Festival Premiere and Awards
*Bagworm* premiered globally at the 2025 Sitges Film Festival, where it captured the Panorama Section Audience Award. Its North American debut occurred in the Visions Section of the SXSW Film & TV Festival, and the film is slated to screen at the Fantasia International Film Festival before its U.S. theatrical opening.
Principal Creators and Cast
The film follows Carroll (Peter Falls), a “sexually frustrated hammer salesman” whose life unravels after stepping on a rusty nail. Supporting actors include Michelle Ortiz, Robbie Arnett, Corbin Bernsen, Stephen Borrello, Jessy Morner-Ritt, Sydney Winbush, and Francesca Galassi. Henry Bernsen wrote the screenplay, while Zoe Rosenberg produced. Aaron Katz serves as Oscilloscope’s Vice President of Acquisitions and negotiated the deal.
Official Statements and Critical Reception
Oscilloscope’s Aaron Katz praised the film’s sensory intensity and its blend of surreal horror with a grounded worldview, noting that “there is hope through the grime and the bodily fluids that things could work out.” In contrast, Deadline critic Damon Wise described *Bagworm* as “a graphic and gruesome look inside the toxic world of the manosphere,” highlighting the film’s provocative subject matter.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Aaron Katz, VP of Acquisitions at Oscilloscope Laboratories, added: “Bagworm is a feast for your senses.” — Aaron Katz, VP of Acquisitions, Oscilloscope Laboratories
- “The film uses aspects of genre and horror to drive home its worldview, yet there is hope through the grime and the bodily fluids that things could work out.” — Aaron Katz
- “Bagworm is a feast for your senses. Oliver’s vision is vivid and surreal, yet grounded in Carroll’s humble understanding that the world is going to shit, if only there were something he could do about it. The film uses aspects of genre and horror to drive home its worldview, yet there is hope through the grime and the bodily fluids that things could work out. Bagworm is excellent and I am thrilled Oscilloscope will be bringing this cinematic fever dream to a theater near you. You know what, fuck it, Carroll for President 2028!” — Aaron Katz
- “a graphic and gruesome look inside the toxic world of the manosphere.” — Damon Wise, Deadline
These statements and the film’s festival momentum underscore the anticipation surrounding *Bagworm* as it prepares for its North American theatrical debut.
