“Another damned movie”, by Alberto Fasce and Mario Varela, is a solid investigation in which specialists such as the remembered critic and filmmaker Diego Curubeto, who was closely linked to this newspaper, participate.
“There is a certain class of abnormalities among humans who release their anguish when they see blood. “The only thing they need is blood.”. The deep voice of Roberto Escalada when he says this phrase in a scene “The black vampire”. And she resonates now, at the beginning of “Another damn movie”a remarkable documentary on the history of Argentine horror cinema, only in this case it seems that the phrase is directed at the public addicted to said genre, and those who make that type of films.
Alberto Fasceco-writer of “The Tenants of Hell” and other titles, and Mario Varelaauthor of “The Life That You Agented”, have made “Another damn movie” with admirable dedication. They start with “The Beastman”, 1934, they trace the film, its sources, and even the author’s family, to provide testimony. And they don’t stop until they cover the production of the year before (the film is from last year). They interview almost 50 people, show fragments of more than 110 works, seek information even in unimaginable places, such as the Institute of Socialist Thought and Mirtha Legrand’s programand they put together an irregular but entertaining exhibition, quite illustrative, with good points for reflection, and also for humor.
In the latter, it is priceless Emilio Vieyra, which filmed the flight of two seagulls and turned them red, to make them look like vampires at sunset. They dedicate a chapter to this veteran, and there are others to Jorge Carlos Garcíasuper-choice promoter of “Super action Saturdays”, Paula Pollachi (exceptional thing about taking an anorexic girl to the cemetery to be cured, and putting her in a drawer on top of that, it’s all filmed), and the Peruvian Enrique Torres Tudelaa pioneer in co-producing Argentine horror films with the United States.
There is also the cinema club Macabre Worlda haven for fans who would later go off to film (“it was like the Vieytes soap shop,” graphs Daniel de la Vega), and the homeland of Buenos Aires Blood Redor the enthusiasts at Farsa Producciones, who made their first movie while still in high school and sold their last one to Netflix, no less.
The documentary is practically divided into two very different parts. The first, with a fairly clear common thread led by the connoisseur Dario Laviareviews the works of more fantastic than terrifying themes from the last century: “Malambo”, “The Zapa Skin”, “The Gaucho and the Devil”, “The Oribe Crime”especially “The Man I Loved”, “The Strange Case of Man and the Beast”, “The Black Vampire” and “Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf” (“one of the ten best films in Argentine cinema,” ponders the remembered Diego Curubetojournalist for this newspaper until his death almost a year ago) and also “Bewitched” and “The Hour of Mary and the Golden Bird”both attentive to the Guarani legend of Jasy Jateré, as well as the political reading fables of Miguel Bejo and Octavio Getino in the ’70s and, of course, the comedies and the first truly horror films. In this, the initial merit is not “A light in the window”as is often believed, but “Masterpieces of horror”of Enrique Carreraswith Ibáñez Menta, about tales of Edgar Allan Poea film that was sold to the US and, they say, inspired Roger Corman. Another key, “Someone is watching you.”, already in the ’80s. A small survey warns that the majority of current directors are unaware of these works.
The second part is entangled in various topics, an understandable defect, since it touches on the explosion of the genre in this century, with a lot of production and blood in abundance, the growing authorial participation of women, international sales, the association with major production companies. (Pampa Film, the first, with “Cold sweat”) and, among other advances, the change in attitude of the Incaa (until not long ago, at least), which from “Winter Visitor” He began to recognize these films as being of special interest, and to give them credits.
Logically, many things are left out. For example, there is no mention of Blood Window, the Incaa rib that placed Argentine horror films in the Cannes Market, the most prestigious business center in the world of cinema. It was another Incaa, and it was recently. The makeup artists and special effects authors do not appear either, but perhaps they deserve their own film.
“Another cursed movie” (Argentina, 2023); Dir.: Alberto Fasce and Mario Varela. Documentary film,
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
