"Haunted" is an explicit thriller film, written by Carmen Maria Machado and directed by Mahx Capacity, and it is the inaugural project in AORTA Films' Induction Series.

What is the plot of "Haunted"?

The film follows a team of documentary filmmakers investigating ghosts as metaphors of grief within New York’s queer community, who then stumble into a literal haunting where a spirit metabolizes their tension, grief, and unease into lust and pleasure.

What is AORTA Films' Induction Series?

The Induction Series is an initiative by AORTA Films that aims to bring artists from various creative fields into the queer porn world to explore indie porn as a culturally resonant media of merit, fusing genres like indie horror, ethical porn, and grassroots filmmaking.

AORTA Films' "Haunted" Premieres at Oslo/Fusion Festival

Q: Who wrote and directed "Haunted"?

The screenplay for "Haunted" was written by best-selling author Carmen Maria Machado, and the film was directed by Mahx Capacity.

AORTA Films' explicit thriller "Haunted," written by Carmen Maria Machado, premieres at the Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival on September 19. It explores queer grief and lust.

AORTA Films, a queer/trans indie adult studio, is set to premiere its explicit thriller, "Haunted," at the Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival in Oslo, Norway, on September 19. The film, written by best-selling author Carmen Maria Machado and directed by Mahx Capacity, marks the inaugural project in AORTA’s Induction Series.

"Haunted" Premiere and Plot Details

"Haunted" will have its world premiere at the Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival on September 19. The official trailer for the movie is scheduled for release on September 16, exclusively on AORTA films' website, HauntedByAORTA.com. The film is described as an explicit thriller.

The plot synopsis details "a team of documentary filmmakers who set out to investigate ghosts as metaphors of grief within New York’s queer community and unexpectedly stumble into a haunting more literal than anticipated. The spirit they awaken seems linked to the building's history, and is intent on metabolizing the crew’s tension, grief and unease into lust and pleasure." Another synopsis states the story follows filmmakers Sam, Jane, and June as they collaborate on their latest project, but the team cannot agree whether they are researching queer legacies of loss or looking for literal ghosts. It adds that "a lustful, trickster spirit disrupts the already tense situation with a psychosexual haunting more visceral and terrifyingly ecstatic than anyone could imagine."

The film explores how ghosts of the queer community’s past, including the AIDS crisis, echo in present-day queer and trans sex. The cast of "Haunted" includes Iris Eclipse, Zulu the Girl, Fae Laveau, Calba Rio, Sakina Sins, and M. Wala.

The Induction Series and Creative Vision

"Haunted" is the first project in AORTA’s Induction Series. This initiative aims to bring artists from various creative fields into the queer porn world "to explore the depths of indie porn as a culturally resonant media of merit," according to a studio representative. The series is designed to fuse genres such as indie horror, ethical porn, and grassroots filmmaking, encapsulating porn’s historical and multi-faceted role within queer culture.

Carmen Maria Machado, who wrote the screenplay, stated, "I knew so early in this process that horror and the queer erotic were perfect bedfellows, and Haunted is everything I wanted it to be. I couldn't have asked for a better creative partner than Mahx or a more extraordinary studio than AORTA."

Mahx Capacity, AORTA’s Creative Director and the film's director, commented on the nature of queer porn. Capacity stated, "Queer porn goes beyond a niche of the mainstream adult industry and is a fundamentally different genre. For queer people, porn is (and always was) liberatory political praxis — a place where the community’s joy, grief, struggle, celebration, and history are synthesized into an embodied, cathartic practice." Capacity also said, "Our understanding of explicit content is undeniably queer and trans. The reason the far right is anti-porn is that the medium documents our community’s survival, joy, and grief across decades of queer/trans resilience. When trans existence itself is called 'obscene,' we know obscenity is human, joyously rebellious, and deeply meaningful."

Release Strategy and Future Plans

Following its festival circuit, AORTA plans to release seven recut scenes from "Haunted" as standalone erotic short films. These monthly premieres are scheduled to begin in October and will lead up to the full feature film's debut on the studio’s website in 2027.

AORTA films can be followed on X.com. The official website for the film is HauntedByAORTA.com.

Key Facts

"Haunted" is an explicit thriller from queer/trans indie adult studio AORTA Films.
The film will have its world premiere at the Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival in Oslo, Norway, on September 19.
Carmen Maria Machado wrote the screenplay, and Mahx Capacity directed the film.
The cast includes Iris Eclipse, Zulu the Girl, Fae Laveau, Calba Rio, Sakina Sins, and M. Wala.
"Haunted" is the inaugural project in AORTA’s Induction Series, an initiative to integrate artists from other creative fields into queer porn.
Seven recut scenes from the film will be released as standalone erotic short films starting in October, leading to the full feature's debut on AORTA’s website in 2027.