Grow (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Grow is a 2026 horror film about a grieving man who becomes mysteriously pregnant after his girlfriend’s death and is held captive by her fanatical family. Directed by Brian Gottlieb, the 83-minute film combines body horror, cult danger and surreal terror around a deeply unsettling struggle for control.

Grow takes a disturbing premise and places it at the center of a horror story about grief, captivity and bodily autonomy. After losing his girlfriend, a man faces an impossible change that draws him into the control of her fanatical family.

Directed by Brian Gottlieb from a screenplay by Gottlieb and Aimee Scher, the film has a runtime of 1 hour and 23 minutes. Its listed genre and keywords point toward body horror, folk horror and surreal terror rather than a conventional supernatural thriller.

Grow movie details

Story without spoilers

Following his girlfriend’s death, a grieving man wakes to discover that he is impossibly pregnant. Before he can understand what has happened, he is taken captive by her family, whose determination to see the child born gives the situation a terrifying new dimension.

The story centers on his struggle against people who claim control over his body and future. With kidnapping, a missing-person element and a fanatical family at its core, Grow builds its premise around confinement, fear and an extreme violation of personal choice.

What to expect

Grow is identified as a horror film and is associated with body horror, folk horror, surreal terror and gender-bending elements. Those classifications suggest an unsettling blend of physical transformation and family or community menace, while the kidnapping premise adds a direct captivity component.

The film’s central conflict is unusually focused: one person’s body becomes the object of another group’s obsession. Viewers can expect a compact, high-concept horror story built around pregnancy, cult-like behavior and a struggle over who gets to decide what happens next.

Cast and creative team

Annet Mahendru leads the cast in the roles of Kitty and Locasta, while Peter Vack plays Hollis. Janis Dardaris appears as Theo, Philip Tabor as Wayne, Joel Bernstein as Gary and Irungu Mutu as Randall. The cast also includes Andrew Ryder as Alex, Sama Fernands as Kitty’s Friend and Gary Wolfenden as Bartender.

Brian Gottlieb directs Grow and co-wrote the screenplay with Aimee Scher.

• Annet Mahendru as Kitty / Locasta
• Peter Vack as Hollis
• Janis Dardaris as Theo
• Philip Tabor as Wayne
• Joel Bernstein as Gary
• Irungu Mutu as Randall
• Andrew Ryder as Alex
• Sama Fernands as Kitty's Friend
• Gary Wolfenden as Bartender

Release and production context

Grow is listed as a 2026 horror film with a release date of October 8, 2026. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 23 minutes. The supplied production information does not specify a country, spoken language or production company.

Movies Dock view

With its combination of impossible pregnancy, captivity and a family determined to control the outcome, Grow is built around a stark and unsettling horror premise. Its short runtime keeps the focus on that central conflict, while the film’s body-horror and folk-horror classifications indicate a story designed for disturbing rather than familiar genre territory.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb