Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Israeli Horror Comes to Life

“THE STATE OF ISRAEL IS UNDER ATTACK,” blares the headline in May’s Rue Morgue magazine. But the threat’s not coming from the usual suspects. This time, it’s zombies, serial killers and apocalyptic plagues that have the country on high alert. And it’s happening on the big screen.

Image by GUY RAZ

Israeli horror is finally coming into its own as a genre, according to the popular Canadian journal of “horror in culture and entertainment.” After decades without “a single, proper Hebrew horror film,” no fewer than five Israeli horror movies have splattered across screens recently, with many more on the way.

The catalyst was 2011’s “Rabies,” which Rue Morgue calls a seminal moment — “the release of [Israel’s] first real horror film.” Until “Rabies,” the magazine notes, most of Israel’s cinematic output consisted of dramas dealing with political or social issues, or portraying dysfunctional families.

“The common explanation was that the state of Israel is stuck with wars, bereavement, and pain, so there is absolutely no room for movies that would add blood and violence,” according to Aharon Keshales, the film critic-turned-director who co-directed “Rabies.” “But what we answer to those who said that is that making a horror movie and dealing with blood and gore brings us catharsis. It relieves. Serious bereavement dramas, which Israeli filmmakers love to make, just draw you deeper to the agony and sadness.”

What hath “Rabies” wrought? How about “Cannon Fodder,” in which an Israel Defense Forces unit sneaks into Lebanon for a “special mission,” only to confront undead locals with serious munchies? Or “Another World,” which depicts the brutal existence of survivors of a nuclear disaster? Or maybe “Cats on a Pedal Boat,” in which a pet feline falls off a raft into a polluted river “and turns into something so hideous it makes the creatures in ‘Piranha’ look like gefilte fish”?

Then there’s “Poisoned,” a low-budget zom-com (that’s zombie comedy) also set inside an Israel Defense Forces base. Its trailer opens with a sweaty, terrified teen in a bloody tank top belting “Avadim Hayinu” — the familiar Passover out-of-bondage tune — while a zombie belches in the background. “Maybe we should have stayed in Egypt,” jokes the tagline. Released shortly after “Rabies,” the acclaimed “Poisoned” has enjoyed modest success on the Israeli film-fest circuit, but has yet to find international distribution.

In fact, the global success of “Rabies” remains an exception among Israeli genre films. ”Homegrown Jewish horror has a long way to go in terms of both national and international recognition,” Rue Morgue writes. “But a new generation of educated filmmakers has given it a foothold.”

Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, the “Rabies” co-creators, are already at work on their second horror picture: “Big Bad Wolves,” which Rue Morgue describes as “a fairy-tale-inspired story about a high school Bible teacher who’s the main suspect in a horrible crime.” And the forthcoming “psychological horror thriller,” Goldberg & Eisenberg, now in post-production, received the first-ever funding from the Israeli Film Fund.

After many years “in which ideas for horror projects floated around as poltergeists in the Israeli film industry,” writes Rue Morgue, “we can now give them a warm shalom greeting.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.