Screamfest L.A. 2014: Filmmaker Alejandro Hidalgo Talks US Premiere of The House at the End of Time

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With Venezuelan filmmaker Alejandro Hidalgo’s feature film The House at the End of Time set for its US Premiere this coming Saturday, October 18, 2014, at 4:00 pm in Hollywood, CA, at the Screamfest Film Festival, read on for our exclusive chat with him, and have a look at some stills and a trailer for the flick.

Written, produced, and directed by Hidalgo, the supernatural-themed The House at the End of Time revolves around (according to the official synopsis):

A mother, imprisoned for thirty years for murdering her husband, is released on compassion, but when she returns to her family home, the supernatural events that led to the crime return to haunt her and reveal a sinister secret about the building in which she lives.

Actors Ruddy Rodriguez, Guillermo Garcia, Rosmel Bustamante, and Alexander Da Silva star.

Filmmaker Hidalgo, who sat down for a lengthy interview with us, stated articulately of his inspiration for the script and subsequent film, “It was a series of abstract emotions, like despair, impotence and love. These emotions started taking shape when I first thought of the premise for the story, while I tried to express pure truth both on its pages and on the big screen. My intention was to make a deep reflection about destiny, to explore whether we human beings could actually change our fate or if it is an unstoppable force, or even if there was some sort of mix between the two paths. For that, I had to work with a universal feeling: a mother’s love. I then had to put that feeling within the context and conventions of a language as rigorous and filmic as the genres of suspense and horror. My main effort was to create real characters made of blood and bone, with a soul and humanity, and not merely offer gratuitous frights to the audience.”

Shot over the course of forty-three days in early 2012 on the Red One Camera, Hidalgo said of the production, “For the most part we shot within the Quinta Castillete, an old house located in Caracas. This house has its own story because it was the property of Pedro Estrada, the Chief of the National Security under Marcos Pérez Jiménez, a cruel dictator in the 50’s. He was a historic character known for his political persecutions, tortures and assassinations against those who opposed the regime. Rumor has it that many people were tortured in the house and human remains were found in the back yard. All of the mystery and darkness of the location were favorable for making the atmosphere of the film come alive.”

Given the recent influx of popular supernatural-related genre films which have graced theatres, we queried Hidalgo, who previously cut his teeth directing short films, of what new elements he’d hoped to deliver in his directorial debut.

“I think there are some innovative elements that I’ve added to the supernatural narrative,” he replied. “The first one is, of course, the final plot twist and, above all things, the combination of genres,” he continued. “This film has strong features of a human and moving drama and some distinctive elements of comedy and of family films. This way I feel we can increase the empathy towards the characters and, in so doing, enhance the fear in the moments of suspense. When we experience affection and love for a character, our fear is truly authentic as we accompany them in the moments of panic.”

Commenting on the film’s domestic theatrical gross in Venezuela, Hidalgo stated, “That was actually my aspiration. Before the film’s release we made a few focus groups, and the reactions of the different audiences were marvelous. I knew this film could have an emotional and intellectual rapport with the public. Our distributors didn’t believe in the film much, nonetheless, and only allowed us the release in twenty-six theaters. The film was an utter success. Tickets were sold out during the first four weeks of screening. Sometimes I went to the movies to watch people’s reactions, and when the film ended, the people would applaud. Those were truly moving moments. The picture had to be programmed in other cities and finally remained in cinemas for forty-one consecutive weeks. The House at the End of Time not only became the highest grossing Venezuelan film of 2013, but also the most watched horror film in Venezuela, even above films like Sixth Sense. Also, according to a Latin American film magazine, out of 450 Latin American films released in 2013, The House at the End of Time was the sixth most watched.”

Having been picked up by MPI Media for a November 2014 Stateside release, Hidalgo said of the US premiere of The House at the End of Time at Screamfest, “I’m very excited. It will be a great honor for me to present my film at a festival as important as this one, and I can’t help feeling a bit nervous. Every time I present the film to a new audience, I feel very anxious and very excited at once. I only hope that the people can enjoy this picture and live a great cinematographic experience. To me the most important thing is that people can enjoy the ride. I hope to be able to watch works from other authors and also meet with producers, agents and distributors, which would mean a great window not only for this movie but also for future projects.”

For tickets to The House at the End of Time, visit Screamfest (which runs October 14th to the 21st) here.

The House at the End of Time

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