Alicia Witt, who recently appeared opposite Nicolas Cage in the horror hit Longlegs, is set to headline Incuba Project, an upcoming English-language horror thriller directed by Chilean filmmaker Juan Pablo Arias. Starring alongside Colombian actress María Camila Giraldo (The Ritual), Witt will play the head of a surrogacy agency concealing a disturbing secret. The film is scheduled to shoot entirely in Colombia and will explore the exploitation of migrant women through a horror narrative. It will also mark the first feature film from Red Script Factory, the in-house writers’ room of Red Collision Studios.
Written by María Camila Caballero Páez, Incuba Project follows Jhoana, a Colombian immigrant who turns to surrogacy to support herself and her young son. Seeking financial stability for her family, she joins Maternity Incuba Care, an agency that offers financial assistance to women willing to become surrogate mothers. However, the arrangement comes with an unsettling condition: the women must remain inside a remote facility for the entire nine months of their pregnancies.
What initially appears to be an opportunity for Jhoana gradually turns into a frightening experience. The women living at the facility begin disappearing one by one, leaving Jhoana increasingly concerned about the circumstances surrounding the agency. As she attempts to understand what is happening, she discovers that Maternity Incuba Care may be concealing something far more disturbing than she initially imagined. Witt plays Minerva, the woman who runs the facility and oversees the pregnant women.
The premise places the commercialisation of women’s bodies at the centre of its horror narrative, with particular attention to migrant women who turn to surrogacy because of financial difficulties. Through Jhoana’s experience, the film examines the vulnerability of women seeking better opportunities for themselves and their families, and the power imbalance that can emerge when financial dependence places control in the hands of an institution. The filmmakers intend to use the conventions of horror not only to create suspense but also to bring attention to a wider social issue.
Speaking about the project, director Juan Pablo Arias described its premise as an opportunity to combine atmospheric horror with a clear political and social message. His approach is to balance the film’s commercial appeal as a genre production with a more personal form of storytelling. The horror elements are intended to emerge from the circumstances surrounding the characters and the system controlling their lives, rather than relying exclusively on frightening situations.
Executive producer Vanessa Gómez also cited Jordan Peele’s Get Out as an example of how genre cinema can address uncomfortable subjects through horror. She explained that Incuba Project focuses on migrant women who seek better lives for their families but find themselves caught in a system that treats their bodies as commodities. The comparison offers an indication of the filmmakers’ intended approach to the material, in which the underlying social concerns are closely connected to the story’s central source of tension.
Rather than presenting Jhoana’s predicament as an isolated series of frightening events, the narrative places her inside an institution whose rules and authority she struggles to challenge. The agency’s control over the women, the restrictions imposed on their movements and the disappearances at the facility form the basis of the film’s suspense. This approach allows the production to connect its horror premise with questions about exploitation, economic vulnerability and the treatment of women within commercial systems.
The project also represents an important milestone for Red Collision Studios. Launched in 2024, Red Script Factory is the company’s specialised writers’ room, established to develop original stories and screenplays. Incuba Project will be its first feature film, taking one of its internally developed stories from the writing stage towards production. The project therefore marks the company’s entry into feature filmmaking through a genre production designed to connect a specific social context with themes that can resonate with international audiences.
Founded by Colombian producers Vanessa Gómez and Sebastián Caballero, Red Collision Studios has been developing genre projects with international audiences in mind. Its decision to begin its feature-film journey with a horror thriller reflects an interest in stories that combine local experiences with broader subjects. In Incuba Project, the Colombian setting is integral to the narrative, while the film’s English-language format and international creative team give the production a cross-border dimension.
The production brings together talent from the United States, Colombia and Chile. Witt leads the cast as Minerva, while Giraldo plays Jhoana, the woman whose decision to become a surrogate mother brings her into the agency’s isolated facility. Arias, a Chilean filmmaker, will direct the English-language feature, with the entire shoot planned to take place in Colombia. The country will consequently serve as both the setting of the story and the production base for the film.
For Witt, the project adds another horror title to her recent filmography following her appearance in Longlegs. Giraldo, meanwhile, continues to build her screen presence after starring in The Ritual alongside Al Pacino and Dan Stevens. Their involvement brings together performers from different film industries for a story rooted in the experiences of migrant women in Colombia.
With its unsettling premise, international cast and focus on the exploitation of women facing financial vulnerability, Incuba Project seeks to bring a socially relevant subject into the horror genre. Its development also marks the first feature-film production from Red Script Factory, giving the project significance beyond its narrative and cast. The planned Colombian shoot will be the next step in bringing the story to the screen.
