First Look: Severin Films Unveils Gothic Horror Short The Fated Hour from Family Dinner Director Peter Hengl

First Look: Severin Films Unveils Gothic Horror Short The Fated Hour from Family Dinner Director Peter Hengl

Severin Films has revealed the first-look stills and official details for The Fated Hour, an upcoming Gothic horror short from Austrian filmmaker Peter Hengl, the writer-director behind the acclaimed 2022 horror feature Family Dinner.

The film is scheduled to begin its festival run this summer, with Severin Films overseeing its North American release.

Set in 19th-century Austria, The Fated Hour draws inspiration from Friedrich Laun’s short story The Relationship with the Spirit World, a work frequently cited as an influence on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The project explores themes of fate, mortality, and the supernatural through a distinctly Gothic lens, blending psychological horror with lingering spectral uncertainty.

Leading the cast is Alina Schaller, known for her breakout performance in the Tribeca-selected drama Breaking the Ice. She is joined by Fanny Altenburger (Counterpart), acclaimed Austrian actor Cornelius Obonya, and Daniel Holzberg, whose recent credits include The Zone of Interest and Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.

Shot on location throughout Austria, the short was produced by Hengl and Lola Basara through Vienna-based Capra Film. Production was supported by Stadt Wien Kultur (MA7) and the Lower Austrian Film Commission.

The project was commissioned by genre historian, filmmaker, and producer Kier-La Janisse, whose documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror remains a landmark exploration of folk horror cinema. Janisse also serves as an executive producer alongside Severin Films founders David Gregory and Carl Daft.

“I’m very excited to have Peter Hengl’s Austrian ghost story joining our growing family of original Gothic shorts,” Janisse said in a statement. “Especially with all the incredible heritage locations and rich period detail.”

For Hengl, the film’s themes remain as relevant today as they were in the Gothic literature that inspired them.

“The oldest gothic dread is always the most modern: that fate cannot be outrun,” Hengl said. “I was fortunate to explore this timeless story alongside performers who understood completely that the past and the present are never truly separate, that some things bleed through.”

Hengl also revealed that the production employed practical visual techniques to represent the supernatural elements within the story.

“For the production, we used analog distortions like various lenses and mirrors not just to evoke a retro vibe, but also to represent the spirit world in the film.”

Based on its literary roots, period setting, and emphasis on practical visual experimentation, The Fated Hour appears poised to continue Severin Films’ growing commitment to original Gothic horror storytelling.

No festival premiere dates have been announced at this time, but The Fated Hour will begin its festival run later this summer before receiving a North American release through Severin Films.