News

Gatopardo Filmes’ “Room for Rent” Headed to FilmOut San Diego

Published

7 years ago

June 3, 2017

Good ghost stories films are hard to find and even harder to create. They rely heavily on mood, atmosphere, and tone that creates the perfect chill in the air as you settle in to watch. “Quarto para alugar (Room for Rent)”, a Brazilian short film making it’s US debut at FilmOut San Diego, is one of those rare films that walks that fine line like a professional acrobat on a tightrope, giving its audience an expertly balanced ghost story that is both charming in its homage and frightening in its claustrophobic setting.

The film, co-directed and written by Enock Carvalho and Matheus Farias, centers around Leticia played by Joana Gatis, a young woman who lives alone in her apartment surrounded by antiques. A portrait of her grandmother hangs on the wall like a reminder that everything you do here is watched closely. Leticia seems lonely and cloistered from the outside world here. She moves about like a nun under a vow of silence quietly preparing for an escape into the outside world.

Intended destination? A party.

Leticia meets Gabriela (Clebia Sousa) at the party and we see the two make their way back to the apartment. Gabriela wanders the space asking questions about the portrait, and the locked door at the end of the hall which Leticia explains is a room she rents out occasionally to make ends meet. As the film moves forward that door becomes more and more sinister and the certainty that it merely opens into an uninhabited room dwindles.

“We knew this would be a challenge from the beginning,” Farias explained. “The position of the room for rent had to be in a very specific position in the scene. It had to be visible from almost every angle in the apartment.”

The filmmakers handled this aspect particularly well. A door that begins almost subliminally as a part of the background veritably looms over us by the end of the 20 minute film. Farias admits they were influenced heavily by films like Rosemary’s Baby and The Tenant when they were making decisions about the film’s pivotal scene, when Leticia’s grandmother appears in the ghostly flesh.

The Grandmother Photo by Clarissa Dutra

“We believe that old houses and furniture keep their owner’s energies forever,” Carvalho says. “Playing with her presence in all the objects and the old pictures in the apartment was a real pleasure as a filmmaker.”

Ultimately, Farias points out, there’s more to this than meets the eye and the message lies in the same object used to invoke the Grandmother’s spirit.

“The film uses this tale to discuss oppression and conservatism,” he says. “For that reason our story happens at an apartment fulfilled with objects that look like they’re from Brazil’s colonial period. We wanted the room for rent to represent this very locked and secret place that hides traditions from a past not so very distant from today.”

Both filmmakers point out that the climate for the LGBT community in Brazil is filled with oppression. They point out that it is one of the most homophobic countries in the world with a legislature that regularly works against their rights as human beings.

“In the last 12 years we have had great victories for these rights,” he points out, “but there is a conservative force emerging against all of us. The only thing we can do now is resist and we are doing this through our films.”

So far, the films seems to be having the desired positive effect. Carvalho points out that the film has been receiving a lot of positive feedback and has been received well by audiences.

You can see “Room for Rent” at the FilmOut San Diego festival as part of a horror block that will take place on June 10, 2017 beginning at 10 pm.

Quarto para alugar (Room for rent) – Trailer from Gatopardo on Vimeo.

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Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks.

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story.

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did.

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD.

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind.

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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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News

Morticia & Wednesday Addams Join Monster High Skullector Series

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Believe it or not, Mattel’s Monster High doll brand has an immense following with both young and not-so-young collectors.

In that same vein, the fan base for The Addams Family is also very large. Now, the two are collaborating to create a line of collectible dolls that celebrate both worlds and what they have created is a combination of fashion dolls and goth fantasy. Forget Barbie, these ladies know who they are.

The dolls are based on Morticia and Wednesday Addams from the 2019 Addams Family animated movie.

As with any niche collectibles these aren’t cheap they bring with them a $90 price tag, but it’s an investment as a lot of these toys become more valuable over time.

“There goes the neighborhood. Meet the Addams Family’s ghoulishly glamorous mother-daughter duo with a Monster High twist. Inspired by the animated movie and clad in spiderweb lace and skull prints, the Morticia and Wednesday Addams Skullector doll two-pack makes for a gift that’s so macabre, it’s downright pathological.”

If you want to pre-purchase this set check out The Monster High website.