ZOE SALDANA MAKES THEM BELIEVE IN "THE SKEPTIC"

By Edwin Pagán, for LATIN HORROR

Seems like 2009 is the year when our marketable Latina actresses are taking the plunge into the darker side of the industry's genre landscape. First we mentioned here [http://tinyurl.com/cs4set] that Salma Hayek is riding a leading role in Paul Weitz' CIRQUE DU FREAK as the bearded lady of sideshow fame, now another venerable talent, Zoe Saldana (VANTAGE POINT, THE TERMINAL, PREMIUM, GUESS WHO), is set to hone her cognitive powers in the haunted-house thriller, THE SKEPTIC, which was written/helmed by Tennyson Bardwell (DORIAN BLUES) and hits theater in a limited run on May 1st at the IFC Center in New York and elsewhere. The film also stars Tim Daly, Tom Arnold, Andrea Roth, Edward Herrmann, Robert Prosky and Bruce Altman. The project marks Bardwell's second feature outing.

The suspense thriller follows a skeptical lawyer (Daly) who moves into a haunted mansion after the unexplained death of his aunt seeking to gain an inheritance and soon begins to experience supernatural incidents that increasingly become more terrifying and can no longer be ignored. Daly's character turns to a local coy medium, played by Saldana, who takes him on a journey to discover the long-hidden unspeakable truth that threatens to destroy him.

View the trailer here --

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-skeptic/trailer

The New York-based actress who hails from the Dominican stronghold of Washington Heights, has had a meteoric career starting with stints on LAW & ORDER and leading to a breakout role in CROSSROADS (2002) as Britney Spears' BFF. She later went on to star in DRUMLINE, CONSTELLATION, DIRTY DEEDS, and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, among others. In 2009, her calendar is full with such top shelf projects as the highly-anticipated J.J. Abrams' blockbuster, STAR TREK, in the role of the beloved communications officer UHURA, and in James Cameron's next experiment, AVATAR. She is also on deck with s slew of pending ptojects such as Christopher B. Landon's BURNING PALMS, and Neil LaBute's DEATH AT THE FUNERAL.

The acquisition and release of the THE SKEPTIC also marks a recent trend at IFC to explore inroads into the highly lucrative horror genre. IFC also recently acquired the Latin horror gem, DARK MIRROR [http://tinyurl.com/dm8dk7], that is set to have its broadcast premiere on May 6th. The development looks promising for horror-handed filmmakers looking for alternative venues outside Lions Gate. The film opens May 1st at New York City’s IFC Center, on May 8th at Spectrum 8 Theatres in Albany (NY), and May 15th at Los Angeles’ Laemmle Music Hall 3. The film will also have a three-month run on the network's 'In Theaters' video-on-demand platform.

DARK MIRROR ACQUIRED BY IFC FILMS / PREMIERES MAY 6TH

Pablo Proenza and Erin Ploss-Campoamor of Cut Glass Productions have sold their film DARK MIRROR, a feature length supernatural thriller, to IFC Films, which has scheduled a May 6th date for its release on "Movies on Demand" as part of "IFC in Theaters" service. The film stars Lisa Vidal, David Chisum, Christine Lakin and Lupe Ontiveros. Variety said of the film: "tour-de-force performance," "excellent!," "a spin on the genre."

Watch the trailer at -- http://www.vimeo.com/4113686

With a broadcast premiere of May 6th approaching the husband and wife creative team are fanning out next week to bring added fanbase attention to the project. Pablo will be participating on a panel about the film at Fangoria's Weekend Of Horrors (http://tinyurl.com/cg7mjp) at the LA Convention Center, while Erin presses the flesh at the National Association of Latino Independent Producer's (NALIP) 10th anniversary conference (http://www.nalip.org/conference10), taking place at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.

DARK MIRROR can be ordered starting May 6th from IFC Festival Direct, which will be available nationwide for 90 days on most major cable systems and reach about 30 million households! Not too shabby.

LATIN HORROR will provide a full review of DARK MIRROR in our May/June issue. And look for an interview with Erin Ploss-Campoamor in our forthcoming essay LADIES OF THE NIGHT, where LATIN HORROR profiles Latinas working within the genre of horror, which will also profile Shawna Baca and Monica Winter Vigil.

ABOUT THE FILM

Dark Mirror is a supernatural thriller about a beautiful Latina photographer named Deborah. When she and her family move into a strange old house, her happy life is turned upside down. First, Deborah sees things – horrible visions, a hooded stalker -- that make her increasingly paranoid and housebound. She changes from confident professional woman into obsessed housewife. She even becomes frightened of her own camera. Every time she takes pictures of people, they disappear. One day, in a fit of anger, Deborah decides to use this power against someone; she photographs her sexy neighbor flirting with her husband. And it works! Her neighbor disappears. But Deborah realizes to her horror... she’s also taken pictures of her own husband and son.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Director, Pablo Proenza

Critically acclaimed filmmaker Pablo Proenza has been receiving rave reviews for his work ever since his break-out film, a short called ViDi, was screened at festivals around the world. (“Superbly accomplished. A masterpiece.” - Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix.) A passionate cinephile from an early age, Pablo was given his first camera at the age of eight. Since then, he has worked in all aspects of film production: writing, directing, producing, shooting and editing. The son of Cuban-American immigrants (an economist for the United Nations and a gifted ceramicist), Pablo had an international upbringing (Washington, D.C.; San Jose, Costa Rica; Rome, Italy; Miami, Fl). Dark Mirror is Pablo’s first feature film. Premiering in NY to a rave review from Variety comparing it to Repulsion and The Others and praising its “spooky" and "fascinat[ing]… spin on the genre.” (Ronnie Scheib, Variety).

Producer, Erin Ploss-Campoamor

Born in Canada to American parents, award-winning filmmaker Erin Ploss-Campoamor was raised all over North America, while learning to speak three languages (English, Spanish, and French). Over the years, she has written, directed, and produced several short films, including April in the Morning (recipient $25,000 Jacob K. Javits Fellowship; nominated Eastman Kodak Award), The Good Egg (winner Platinum Award & Best of Festival) and the semi-autobiographical La Americanita, inspired by the years she spent living with her stepfather’s Cuban-American family in Miami, FL (winner, two Best Short Film awards; semifinalist Angelus Film Award). Erin also produced Pablo Proenza’s debut feature film, Dark Mirror, which received a rave review for its star’s “tour-de-force performance” and was compared to some of Bergman, Amenábar and Polanski's best work.

ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTOR

A leading theatrical film distribution company launched in 2000, IFC Films brings the best of independent and specialized films to theaters near you. Independent film audiences nationwide recognize the IFC brand, which has rapidly become synonymous with first-rate product, aggressive and strategic release campaigns, utilization of brand cross promotions and artistic integrity. IFC is dedicated to realizing the visions of independent filmmakers without compromise and is a dedicated ground for nurturing these visions. IFC Films releases 10-12 films per year, building a slate of titles from an acquisitions program and selected in-house productions.

IFC Films releases include My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Casa de los Babys and Lost in La Mancha.. For more information, visit http://www.ifcfilms.com/.

RESOURCES:

Official website: http://www.darkmirrormovie.com/

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Mirror/49243290681

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/darkmirrormovie

1st Annual MIEDO: Latin Horror Film Competition

Dear LATIN HORRORphiles:

This fall LATIN HORROR will produce the work of an emerging writer/director or writer/director team as part of its 1st Annual MIEDO: Latin Horror Film Competition, a juried competition looking to discover the next emerging Latin horror auteur. The official for call for scripts (10-15 pages in length), and related guidelines, will begin circulation May 1, 2009. Look for complete details soon.

There will be SANGRE!

- LATIN HORROR Team

ONLY "LET THE RIGHT ONE IN"

By Edwin Pagán, for LATIN HORROR

Last September Hammer and Overture Films announced they had tapped CLOVERFIELD director Matt Reeves to helm a remake of the critically-acclaimed Swedish vampire film, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. The news sent chills up the spine of fans of the film (and genre) and even elicited a few choice words from the director of the original, Thomas Alfredson:

"Why can’t they just read the subtitles?" [MovieZine.se]

Any takers to that solid question?

John Ajvide Lindqvist, who wrote the novel on which the film is based, and wrote the script for the Swedish production, also opined:

"Tomas’ film is the definitive film, it is, I can’t imagine how anything would be better." [AICN]

I'm personally in complete agreement with Alfredson and Lindqvist on the matter of remakes of foreign films, especially when the original is of such high grade that it almost negates a re-imaging by its very nature. BUT, in all fairness, and to begin another point of discussion that is seldom pointed out, like the 800-pound gorilla in the room: Why complain after you have sold off the rights and deposited the check(s)? There obviously was another choice in direct line with their convictions:

"Thanks for the generous offer, sirs, but NO thank you."

If the undercurrent for this article is not entirely apparent, it is this - The trend of remaking hit foreign horror films began with the success of the Japanese brand [JU-ON begat THE GRUDGE, RNGU begat THE RING, JIAN GUI begat THE EYE, etc.]. The plague has now moved east and touched this Swedish gem. Soon, I dread, it may carry over to Latin/Spanish horror as the genre continues to gain traction and directors with a steady hand turn out true works of suspenseful horrific wonder. And I think to myself: What would a remake of Guillermo Del Toro PAN'S LABYRINTH be like? Or Juan Antonio Bayona's THE ORPHANAGE? I come short of hurling at the mere prospect. In 2007, New Line toyed with the idea of redoing Bayona's tone-perfect Spanish ghost story, but that seems to have evaporated into the ether (yes, there is a Goddess). Or maybe the mini-major is simply taking a prudent 'let's-wait-and-see' stance.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, some say, may go into production as soon as May from a script by Reeves himself. But Overture more recently contradicted those claims as ungrounded and pointed to the fact that a May start date would not be logistically savvy since the bulk of the story takes place in winter. J.J. Abrams scored a huge victory with his savvy word-of-mouth viral campaign for CLOVERFIELD, and is known to keep details about pending projects close to the chest. So it stands to reason that they would attempt to cast as much confusion onto the fan stage as possible since its worked in their favor in the past. SO to him, I only have two phrases: Sound stage / CGI (to whom he is no stranger and which will play a big role if he navigates the production -- did I mention the queazy feeling of needing to blow chunks?).

So the next time they come knocking, the answer can be as simple as ONLY letting the right one in. OR, not opening the door at all. After all, the door DOES swing both ways.

The remake -- LET ME IN (the name of Lindqvist's original novel) -- is scheduled for a January 15th release.

DARK CARNIVAL FILM FEST CALL-FOR-ENTRIES / SCREENPLAY COMPETITION

Submissions for the Dark Carnival Film Festival 2009 are now open!

Dark Carnival Film Fest - http://www.darkcarnivalfilmfest.com/ - is currently accepting shorts, features, and trailers. We're looking for unique horror, dark fantasy, and sci-fi and every sub-genre in between. DARK CARNIVAL also has the ONLY screenplay competition where the winning script gets produced into a film!

Dark Carnival receives films from nearly two dozen countries from all over the planet, and from almost every state in the US. In a relatively short time, we have gained a reputation as a festival that values indie filmmakers, and that loves the horror genre as something much more than some business niche or a way to sell merchandise.

Screenplay info--

http://www.darkcarnivalfilmfest.com/screenplay.html

Submission form --

http://www.darkcarnivalfilmfest.com/DCScriptform.pdf

--------------------------

- LATIN HORROR

"Scaring up a Revolución"

"DARK SHADOWS" COMING INTO THE LIGHT - EVENTUALLY

By Edwin Pagán, for LATIN HORROR

Frequent collaborators Johnny Depp [ED WOOD, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN] and Tim Burton [BEETLEJUICE, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET] are at it again - keeping the net abuzz with talk of their next pending project: DARK SHADOWS.

Depp, who purchased the rights to the gothic-style soap opera back in 2007 and plans to develop the project via his production company, Infinitum Nihil, is set to star in the lead role of Barnabas Collins, a 175-year-old vampire (played by Jonathan Frid in the original series). Tim Burton, who is knee-deep on postproduction on ALICE IN WONDERLAND is anticipated to helm. The script is penned by John August [CORPSE BRIDE, BIG FISH, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, FRANKENWEENIE].

The project was first reported on the boards as going into production this coming summer (a rumor that gained steam when veteran producer Richard D. Zanuck dropped the tid-bit to entertainment portal Collider.com). But due to schedule overruns on WONDERLAND, and Depp's next big blockbuster, PUBLIC ENEMIES, gaining media attention, DARK SHADOWS is now more practically seen as kicking into gear proper in the fall. Both Depp and Burton, both big fans of the original series, have continued to assert that the project will go forward in 2009.

But while most are anticipating the magical Burton spin, some movie fans sites and blogs are also showing a growing discontent with the increasing trend of remaking time-tested classics in their "re-creator's" image. At hand is whether Burton can manage to keep the integrity of the original series that ran from 1966 - 1971 and ended its run with an amazing 1,225 episodes to its credit, as well as an enormous cult following (me included among them)! The original serial featured a heavy gothic horror feel and ran the gamut of monsters from vampires and werewolves to ghosts and zombies, and everything in between.

The question is: can 90-minutes or a 2-hour portal replicate the feel of the original? Hard to say. But Burton has successfully tackled other rooted material in the past and come out on top. I'm personally of the opinion that the original can never be destroyed. Even if Burton and Depp come up short -- hard to imagine -- the classic can always be purchased on DVD (http://www.darkshadowsdvd.com). But when you begin to consider the investment it would take to purchase an anthology comprising 1,225 episodes, you can bet that the fanboys/fangirls will keep their words on the net and money away from their mouths. Suddenly $12 for Burton seems much more within reach. Now harm, no foul.

--------------------------

- LATIN HORROR

"Scaring up a Revolución"

THANKS FOR THE BLOODY SUPPORT - HORRORphiles #2 A HUGE SUCCESS

Dear LATIN HORRORphiles:

I wanted to take a moment and THANK everyone who came out last night and helped make "The HORRORphiles #2 - Scaring up a Revolución" such a BLOODY enormous success!! We had a packed house and once again we had an incredible vibe going that's hard to describe. The closest would be: SOLIDARITY. And I'm hoping there's more to read into the kinship than just extremely spiked BLOODY MARY mix :)

I also want to thank you all for coming out and putting $6 on the barrelhead during this wacked out economy to support the Anthology Film Archives and the filmmakers whose films we showcased. Please know that those hard-earned $ go a long way in keeping the Anthology up-and-running. It is the ONLY venue of its kind left in New York and is entirely administered by filmmakers, for filmmakers. I'm honored to have been associated with the screening space for the last 7-years, showcasing Latino/a films and now helping to put Latin horror on the map with their unconditional support.

Last but NOT least, I want to thank the very talented artists who allowed us to present their work -- I hope we managed to showcase their talents in a dignified and respectful manner. I want to ensure that you also continue to support their work. If you enjoyed their work, become their fans and friends (if you already aren't). Send them a note of appreciation, and keep abreast of their next projects as they continue to create more horrific work. Fortunately for us, all the filmmakers from last night's showcase can be found on Facebook:

* LEONARD ZELIG ["434"]

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=514887046

* MONICA WINTER VIGIL ["MY WIFE IS A ZOMBIE"]

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=589172188

* SHAWNA BACA ["3:52"]

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=546928318

* PEPPER NEGRON ["BLOOD DRIPS"]

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=512228309

* MIGUEL GALLEGO ["THE CRYPT CLUB"]

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=757645857

* JORGE ALGORA ["THE MUD BOY"]

[also on Facebook but non frequently on - may take a while for response]

Tell 'em LATIN HORROR sent you.

And thanks for helping us as we journey on "Scaring up a Revolución!"

- LATIN HORROR Team

"Scaring up a Revolución"