Friday, April 30, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
LA CASA MUDA (The Silent House) Speaks Volumes to Horror Fans
The stuff of horror and the conventions filmmakers use to frighten us are nothing new: science has not discovered any new human emotion to tamper with, and the filmmaker's toolbox has contained the same tricks or treats for over a 100 years now (more or less); it's all been done before. But an original story with an approach that speaks to the director's singular vision will always feel fresh and sincere.
First impressions are everything, and judging from the trailer of La Casa Muda (The Silent House), Uruguayan national Gustavo Hernández is set to put that South American region, mostly known for its agriculture, on the international map of horror, as well bring more exposure to the genre of Latin-based horror. Especially since it was announced just yesterday that La Casa Muda was selected to be among the 24 films that will showcase as part of this year's Directors’ Fortnight during the 63rd Cannes Film Festival. La Casa is Uruguay's official entry
(not to mention that sci-fi phenom Federico Alvárez will shoot part of the feature-length version of his extremely virulent short Panic Attack! in Uruguay later this year, too)
The story of La Casa Muda centers on a father and daughter team who settle into a dilapidated cottage to begin to make some much-needed repairs. And as an organically built-in metaphor to the director's land-locked country, that is surrounded on three sides by Brazil and Argentina, the protagonists soon find themselves with only one possible way out of their dire dilemma - directly through the unknown evil force that threatens their very existence. The story, we are told, is based on true events that took place in Uruguay in 1944. This detail makes the premise instantly all the more intriguing in The Blair Witch Project kind of way (but hopefully with a genuine payoff). And given what we've seen so far, we think there will be.
La Casa Muda is shot in a single, continuous 78-minute take using a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) Canon's D5—a still camera with the added capacity to shoot full 1080 HD video (part of that 'more or less' equation). The film's look is a marvel given the technology utilized (the D5s were first generation, buggy and tempermental units) and the credit goes to cinematographer Pedro Luque. Producer Gustavo Rojo also needs to be singled out for effectively managing such an enormouse orchastration and coming out the other side with a production as visually rich on only a shoe-string budget: around $6,000!
The film follows in the footsteps of other shake-and-brake films with its use of hand-held camera work (think Cloverfield and District 9). But unlike those nausea-inducing pills that ran amok in their sprawling environments, La Casa is more in line with its Spanish counterpart, REC (with whom it shares a few similarities), bound to close quarters with movement more an innate byproduct of the story than a forced joyride. Kudos go to DP Luque again for striking a visual balance (incidently, it should be noted here that Luque also shot the eye-catching Panic Attack!). Similarly like REC, it is also a first-person point-of-viewer.
But apart from all the semantics, the film's real power lies its ability to take away our safety net by focusing on the true and tried basics of fear without relying on ungrounded gimmicks or CGI. It's hard to do that when the camera doesn't stop rolling. The filmmaker's astutely bill this as "Real fear in real time." What lies in the shadows is as important as what we are allowed to see; the mind fills in the blanks. And we cannot pause, rewind, or make it stop until its final conclusion.
Making us feel powerless in the dark, now that's true horror.
Ladies and gentlemen, Gustavo Hernández has left the building...
But apart from all the semantics, the film's real power lies its ability to take away our safety net by focusing on the true and tried basics of fear without relying on ungrounded gimmicks or CGI. It's hard to do that when the camera doesn't stop rolling. The filmmaker's astutely bill this as "Real fear in real time." What lies in the shadows is as important as what we are allowed to see; the mind fills in the blanks. And we cannot pause, rewind, or make it stop until its final conclusion.
Making us feel powerless in the dark, now that's true horror.
Ladies and gentlemen, Gustavo Hernández has left the building...
Monday, March 22, 2010
There Will Be SANGRE: The Business of Horror
The panel will take place as an exclusive part of NALIP's 11th annual producer/filmmaker conference "NALIP 2010: NAVIGATING IN A SEA OF CHANGE" @ Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, and can only be attended via conference registration. Conference Day Pass Available Here
Co-sponsored by RUE MORGUE, FEARWERX, and VAMPIRE-CON.
SPEAKERS:
Edwin Pagán, founder, LATIN HORROR, Filmmaker [moderator]
Edwin Pagán is a filmmaker, cinematographer, screenwriter, photographer, and cultural activist with a rare blend of creative and administrative experience, including over 20 years in community organizing, organizational capacity building and initiative-based/event programming, as well as extensive production experience in the narrative and documentary film sectors. Edwin is the founder-in-chief of LATIN HORROR (www.latinhorror.com), an online niche market website specializing in Latin-influenced horror, and its documentation and promotion as a distinct genre. Currently, he is penning a book entitled MIEDO - The History of Latin Horror, and is an advisory board member of the Hispanic Organization Latino Actors (HOLA).
Gary Deocampo, Staff Writer, LATIN HORROR
Gary "El Boy" Deocampo covers the horror film festival, horror convention, and comic-con circuits for LATIN HORROR, providing insightful profiles & reviews with his own original tongue-in-cheek, macabre, fan-boy style.
Gary was born in the City of Angels and raised on a healthy diet of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Night Gallery, The Hammer Horror Films, and his favorite, Universal Studio's Monster Movies. Presently, his affinity for the horror genre has broadened and spans the globe.
Gary is frequent guest on the Fanboy Confidential podcast, is part of the writing staff of Del Toro Films, and writes and manages his own horror blog, Dark Recess.
Rodrigo Gudiño, Publisher, Rue Morgue Magazine, Filmmaker
Rodrigo Gudiño is a filmmaker and founder and president of Rue Morgue, an independent magazine focusing on horror in culture and entertainment. Currently, he is working on several feature film projects. Rodrigo’s most recent short, The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow, was a 2009 Genie Award nominee, and his film The Demonology of Desire premiered at the 2007 Worldwide Short Film Festival. He oversees the Cinemacabre Movie Nights, a monthly screening of classic and cult horror films in Toronto’s Bloor Cinema, the weekly program Rue Morgue Radio, and the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear, Canada’s largest, annual horror convention.
Joe Sena, President, FearWerx
Joe Sena runs SphereWerx, a marketing agency known for its EMCE Toys brand, and FearWerx.com, the largest horror ecommerce site. Joe has 21 years of production and marketing experience, including event and video production, product development, strategy and software engineering. Previously, Joe developed affinity programs and merchandise lines for Universal, Paramount and MGM. As Creative Director of Universal Studios New Media in the 1990s, Sena created the Universal Online Horror Channel, HorrorOnline.com and 13thStreet.com, credited as the first major presence of the horror genre on the internet. Sena also launched the first sites for genre magazines Fangoria and Starlog.
Lotti Pharriss Knowles, VAMPIRE-CON
Lotti Pharriss Knowles is a writer, producer and partner in Weirdsmobile Productions, Inc. Her producing credits include the short films SHADOW.NET (Winner, Best Thriller – Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival) and WEAK SPECIES (Winner, Best Short – FilmOut San Diego and Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival), and the world premiere run of her play BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO WORDS. Lotti'’s current producing projects include the horror-comedy feature film CHASTITY BITES, the annual event VAMPIRE-CON, and filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz’s documentary feature ACTIVIST: THE TIMES OF VITO RUSSO (founder of ACT UP and GLAAD). As a horror expert she can be seen on the E! Channel special “Ten Vampires We Love,” and in the upcoming documentary “The 50 Greatest Horror Films You’ve Never Seen.”
Monica Winter Vigil, Filmmaker, Entrepreneur
Monica Winter Vigil is an entrepreneur, filmmaker, and script consultant. Her short films have played across the Unites States, Europe and South America. Her current short, Not Even Death, (www.stopjackie.com), recently made its European premiere at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival. Her screenplays have earned her many recognitions and placements in screenwriting contests. She has numerous shorts in pre-production and a slew of features in development. Previously, she worked on the daytime drama “The Young and the Restless,” and Nickelodeon’s family series “Rhodes Home.” Monica is the co-founder of the Gimme Credit International Screenplay Competition (www.gimmecreditcompetition.com) and teaches business and marketing at Ashford University.
Pablo Proenza, Filmmaker
Critically acclaimed filmmaker Pablo Proenza broke records for IFC Films with his feature debut 'Dark Mirror', which became their top-selling OnDemand title of all time. Variety compared the supernatural thriller to 'Repulsion' and 'The Others', praising it as a “spooky” and “fascinating spin on the genre.”
Proenza has been receiving rave reviews for his work ever since his break-out film, a short called 'ViDi' which screened at festivals around the world. (“Superbly accomplished. A masterpiece.” - Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix.) The son of Cuban-American immigrants, Proenza had an international upbringing (Washington, D.C.; San Jose, Costa Rica; Rome, Italy; Miami, Fl).
Jason Cuadrado, Filmmaker
Jason Cuadrado is an award-winning writer and filmmaker who has worked in independent film and new media for the last fifteen years. Currently, he is preparing to shoot the film Dark Desert Highway with Esperanza Productions, and developing a horror anthology series for television. Previously, he directed television in New York City and worked with John Leguizamo's production company, Lower East Side Films. Later, he relocated to Los Angeles where he wrote and directed the critically acclaimed feature Tales from the Dead, the first Japanese horror film shot in the United States.
He was the writer and director of his award-winning short Monstrous Nature.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
"MIEDO (fear): The Business of Horror." April 9, 2010
Dear LATIN HORRORphiles:
We just wanted to inform you that we have a tentative date for our forthcoming horror industry panel "MIEDO (fear): The Business of Horror." The panel is set to take place on FRIDAY, APRIL 9th during NALIP's 11th annual filmmaker conference @ Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel in sunny California. YES, for our friends and fans on the west coast: We're coming out to meet and greet you!
While the panel is still in formation, we guarantee that it will be populated with some of the industry's leading creative entrepreneurs and filmmakers working within niche horror markets. Aside from our e-blasts, the following link will be your direct source of information to this horrific event! Save the date, and stay tuned for more details coming shortly
http://www.latinhorror.com/nalip-miedo20
"There will be SANGRE!"
Edwin Pagán
Founder-In-Chief
LATIN HORROR
Friday, August 21, 2009
LATIN HORROR's ON THE HORRIZON: THE WOLFMAN
Universal Pictures Releases Trailer; Cages Beast Until 2010
Back in February we reported with some delight that the website for the remake of The Wolfman had just gone live. The bigger part of the elation was that the project would be fronted by the multi-talented Benicio Del Toro in the leading role of Lawrence Talbot. At the time, we also promised to keep you in-the-loop on the ongoing status of this production. True to our word, we bring you some good news, albeit wrapped in a little bit of the bad stuff.
First the good news: Today Universal Pictures released the first full trailer for The Wolfman (view trailer HERE).
The Wolfman - Key Poster Art.
The remake, helmed by Joe Johnston, is directly based on the 1941 classic that starred Lon Chaney Jr. in the role of Talbot, a man who upon returning to his ancestral homeland is bitten and cursed by a werewolf. Part of the good news is that the trialer packs some stunning visuals by cinematographer Shelly Johnson and potentially frightful moments that evoke and pay homage to the original film while employing a trick or two from the modern scare tactic book. Even if you've never heard of the Wolfman (anything is possible), the trailer quickly sets up the folklore in just a few swift shots and soundbytes and sets you straight.
Another feather in the film's cap: special effects makeup master extraordinaire: Rick Baker, who has won a remarkable six Oscars ® for his work. 'Nuff said.
But aside from aesthetics, the prime question on the mind of every true fan of the classic is whether Del Toro can match - or surpass - the angst and foreboding that Chaney brought to the original. OR, if he'll bring something new to the role and make it his own. That is still to be seen (there's that tick again).
The production also boasts a star-studded cast that includes Academy Award-winner Anthony Hopkins, the ever-fantastic Hugo Weaving, and Golden Globe-winner Emily Blunt.
Now the silver bullet: Unfortunately, the suits at Universal Pictures giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other, and have put the half-man, half canine beast back in its cage - until 2010! This marks the fourth time the film's release date has been pushed back by UP. It was first scheduled to see the light of day this past Feb 13th, then bumped to April 3rd, then up to Nov. 6th.
The new release date is set for February 12th, just two days shy of Valentines Day. Is Universal seriously looking at releasing this pictures as a romantic drama? Not likely. Part of the decision, if one is to be believe Adam Fogelson, president of marketing and distribution for Universal, may be based on the fact that horror typically fares better at the box office during the first few month of the year rather than later in the year, say, for example, in November:
“We have seen just how enormous first quarter movies can be,” he said, citing the $215 million that studios generated on the February weekend this year, versus the $136 million that pics earned on the November date last year. [Variety]
But if that was the actual basis for their decision, then why not release it this past February 13th? (those exasperated HOWLS you hear are the thousands of fans who have been anticitpating this film for nearly a year now)
I've always said that horror fans are a loyal bunch. But they also have memories like elephants, industry-related blogs, fan sites with incredible viral capacities, and the purse strings. The folks at UP should be cautious not to bring out the monster in THEM, and risk bringing a curse (read backlash) upon their house... you f * * k with the beast, and you get the fangs!
SIDEBAR: As if to add salt to our already burning wounds, Universal has provided a widget that counts down the days until the film's new, new, new, new premiere date. Not excactly sure that reminding us how much more we have to wait until the film hits theaters is the best tactic right about now.
Monday, August 10, 2009
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