First time feature director Nicholas Pineda (Disquiet) and screenwriter Katy Krauland (A NoHo Heist) create an intense, eerie, horror drama, Infirmary. It utilizes found security camera and bodycam footage to infest its way into the brains of audiences and send chills up their spines in a creepy tale of security work in an abandoned hospital. This surefire, creepy tale that should not be missed had its world premiere at Dances With Films Festival New York on January 16^th, 2026, and is not for the uneasy, and is certainly not for the easily scared. So, sit back and prepare yourselves for the tense and unsettling world of Infirmary.

Paul Syre as Edward in INFIRMARY. Photo courtesy of Dances With Films New York.

The film focuses on a young man, Edward (Paul Syre), as he works his first shift at the Wilshire Infirmary, which has been long shut down for practice but is not yet abandoned. He is paired with Lester (Mark Anthony Williams) who seems to be there simply to the show the kid the ropes so he can go ahead and retire and leave the night guarding to someone else. There are stories and theories thrown around about what happened here. Being former military personnel, it shouldn’t bother Edward too much, but there is something seemingly off about this asylum. On top of the extra unsettling and uncomfortable vibes, Edward has to deal with Lester who really is a walking, talking HR violation who miraculously hasn’t been fired yet (presumably would have been if he wasn’t the *only* other person working, it seems). At first, it’s Lester playing games which are not okay — *mild spoilers* — like locking Edward in a morgue cold bed and telling him he’s stuck (this is a featured clip). However, after this occurs, things start to get even more unsettling and disturbing as a mystery intruder appears to the audience, Edward, and Lester. But before the two characters can act upon what they saw (or think they saw), the intruder vanishes. Then Lester mysteriously vanishes, leaving Edward to navigate this new place, that is certainly sending a shiver down his spine, on his own and the discomforting nature of the events of the night thus far and the stories he’s heard up and to this point slowly creep their way to the forefront as he tries to survive at any cost.

There are three things that need to come together for an indie low budget movie to work, and, if any of them faulters, the movie itself ends up suffering. They are a tight script, a strong lead, and marvelous direction. Thankfully the combination Paul Syre (Badly in Love), Nicholas Pineda, and Katy Krauland crafts and performs a tense, eerie, unsettling drama that is going to linger with and terrify audiences along the same lines Paranormal Activity did back in 2007. The use of found security and body cam footage is similar in style to Paranormal Activity and transports the audience to a created world of unease. There is a lot of promise here from Pineda’s feature debut in his creation of a masterfully intense and disturbing reality for the audiences to sink their teeth into as they slowly disappear into their seats to escape the horrors throughout Infirmary. While the entire movie depends on Syre to be present and to make his performance believable, he brings the story that Krauland crafts to life seemingly effortlessly, drawing the audience fully into the claustrophobic world.

Mark Anthony Williams as Lester in INFIRMARY. Photo courtesy of Dances With Films New York.

Infirmary is a powerful debut in indie cinema and is surely going to add the names of everyone involved as ones to watch out for. From creatively crafting a world utilizing the tropes of the audience only having the perspectives of “found” footage to discover what happens to someone who is essentially trapped in a former asylum, alone to an uncanny and unsettling performance from its lead, Infirmary proves to be a strong original and terrifying debut. When taking swings for the fences, things have to get knocked out of the park for them to be considered a success, and Infirmary is a home run by all accounts.

World premiere during Dances With Films New York January 16^th, 2026.

For more information, head to the official Dances With Films New York Infirmary webpage.

Final Score: 4 out of 5.

Categories: In Theaters, Reviews

Tags: Amalgam Films, Corinna Wagner-Smith, Dances With Films, Dances With Films New York, Dances With Films New York 2026, Danielle Kennedy, film festival, horror, Infirmary, Katy Krauland, Mark Anthony Williams, Nicholas Pineda, Paul Syre