For 12 hours, all criminal activity is legal but all the rules are broken as a sect of lawless marauders decide that the annual Purge does not stop at daybreak and instead should never end in The Forever Purge.

The film stars Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre, Cowboys & Aliens) and Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) as a married couple living in Texas. Huerta’s character Juan works as a ranch hand for the wealthy Tucker family, though his presence does not sit well with all of the family. Despite the differences in the two families, both must work together after the Tucker family is attacked the morning after The Purge.

The Forever Purge cast also includes Will Patton (Halloween) as Caleb Tucker, the patriarch of the Tucker family; Josh Lucas (Ford v Ferrari) as Caleb’s son Dylan; Cassidy Freeman (The Righteous Gemstones) as Dylan’s wife and Leven Rambin (The Hunger Games) as Dylan’s sister.

From a screenplay by franchise creator James DeMonaco, the film is directed by Everardo Gout, writer-director Days of Grace. The film is produced by the franchise’s founding producers: Jason Blum for his Blumhouse Productions; Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller; and Man in a Tree duo James DeMonaco and his longtime producing partner Sébastien K. Lemercier. The film’s executive producers are Marcei A. Brown, Gout and Jeanette Volturno. The Universal Pictures and Perfect World Pictures film is a coproduction of Platinum Dunes, Blumhouse and Man in a Tree.

The Forever Purge is set to release in theaters July 2.

The post Trailer: Mexicans at the forefront of ‘The Forever Purge’ first appeared on .

By Justina Bonilla

The Forever Purge, the final film of the popular The Purge franchise, is scheduled to premiere July 2, 2021.

A strong presence of Mexican talent is featured in The Forever Purge both in front and behind the camera, including stars Ana de la Reguera and Tenoch Huerta and director Everardo Gout, as well as the Spanish-born, Mexico City-based cinematographer Luis David Sansans.  

The plot, according to Total Film: “[The Forever Purge] will take place after the events of [The Purge] Election Year (whereas The First Purge acted as a prequel to the 2013 original [film The Purge]) and will center on Adela (Reguera) and Juan (Huerta), who finds solace at a Texan ranch, having fled a drug cartel in Mexico. Things go awry when a group of outsiders decides to keep purging beyond the allotted time when people can break any and all laws.”

De la Reguera began her career in multiple Mexican telenovelas. She gained notoriety for her role as Sister Encarnacion in the Jack Black comedic film Nacho Libre. Later, she appeared in an array of American television shows such as Narcos, Twin Peaks (2017), From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, and Anna.   

Huerta has acted in many Mexican films, including two films with writer-director Issa Lopez; the comedy Road to Fame and the fantasy horror Tigers are Not Afraid. On television, Huerta played Blue Demon, the legendary Mexican professional wrestler, in the series Blue Demon and had a recurring role in Narcos: Mexico.

Gout began his directing career as a second assistant director for Romeo + Juliet. He directed multiple shorts and television shows, most notably Mars for National Geographic. Later, Gout’s feature film Days of Grace, which featured Huerta as a part of the main cast, premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Sansans has been working in Mexico for over 20 years. Like Gout, Sansans worked on Romeo + Juliet (video assistant operator) and Days of Grace (cinematographer). His own filmography features camera work for Man on Fire and Y Tu Mama Tambien and as a cinematographer for Narcos and Narcos: Mexico.

James DeMonaco wrote The Forever Purge script. DeMonaco is the main creator of The Purge franchise, also wrote the previous five The Purge films and wrote on The Purge TV series. He also directed the first three of The Purge films, The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy and The Purge: Election Year.

The Purge franchise is distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes.

The post ‘The Forever Purge’ Features a Strong Latino Presence first appeared on .

Mexican director López is best known for the multi-awarded, critics darling Tigers Are Not Afraid: A supernatural tale about children fighting for survival in a harsh real-life environment. The film is Certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes with a 97% and gave the director international recognition.

This summer, López’s exciting secret project for Blumhouse is coming to theaters. 

“As a Mexican filmmaker, I’m a firm believer there can never be enough movies about El Chupacabras,” said Lopez about this project dear to her, “and I’m here to deliver on that promise.”

The founder of Blumhouse, Jason Blum said this about El Chupacabras, “Just when you thought there was a movie I wouldn’t make — I present, El Chupacabras,” said Jason Blum.

The post Trailer: Issa Lopez’s ‘El Chupacabras’ Is Here! first appeared on .

By Justina Bonilla

Bingo, a new film to be featured in the second half of the popular Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios series Welcome to the Blumhouse, has revealed its entire cast, including Oscar-nominated actress Adriana Barraza as its star.

The Welcome to the Blumhouse film series follows the Blumhouse signature horror-thriller films, with up-and-coming directors who are female and/or of color. The films also feature diverse casts, blending established and emerging acting talents. Part one of Welcome to the Blumhouse included the films Black Box, The Lie, Evil Eye, and Nocturne. Both Black Box and Nocturne featured the talent of Latina cinematographers Hilda Mercado (Black Box) and Carmen Cabana (Nocturne).

Bingo is directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero and co-written by Saul Guerrero, Shane McKenzie, and Perry Blackshear. It’s one of the four films premiering later this year, alongside The Manor, Black as Night, and Madres. Bingo is the latest of Saul Guerrero’s award-winning directorial resume with Blumhouse Television. Her previous Blumhouse collaborations include the television series Hulu’s Into the Dark: Culture Shock and The Purge series episode“Hail Mary”.

Bingo follows a group of elderly women led by Lupita (Barraza), as they fight against gentrification in their beloved Oak Springs barrio. However, as they fight to save their beloved bingo hall, it’s about to be sold to a presence whose influence exceeds money.   

Lupita is described as, a strong and stubborn “chingona” (badass) who grew up in the barrio of Oak Springs, a neighborhood formerly full of crime and dangerous characters. Lupita has dedicated her life to lifting up the neighborhood and creating a community the residents could be proud to call home.

Barraza is an established actress with an impressive international career of over 40 years in film, television and theatres. Establishing herself in Mexico, she gained international regard acting in the 1999 critically acclaimed, and Oscar-nominated film Amores Perros, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. In 2006, Barraza re-teamed with Iñárritu, acting in a supporting role in Babel, gaining an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Most recently, Barraza has appeared in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, and We Can Be Heroes.

Another established actress of television, film, and theatres to be featured in a leading role, is Tony award-winning actress L. Scott Caldwell. Caldwell is the “witty, loyal, and though grandmother” Dolores and Lupita’s best friend.

The cast of Bingo will also feature Joshua Caleb Johnson (The Good Lord Bird), Bertila Damas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), David Jensen (Queen Sugar), Clayton Landey (Sully), Kelly Murtagh (The Purge series), Grover Coulson (Friday Nights Lights), Jonathan Medina (The Purge series), and Richard Brake (Games of Thrones).

Bingo just finished its filming in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The post Full Cast Announced for Blumhouse Television Film ‘Bingo’ first appeared on .

Marco Rodriguez will be part of the main cast for Blumhouse TV’s Season 2 finale and twenty-fourth installment of the anthology on Hulu Into The Dark, “Blood Moon”, set to premiere March 28, 2021.

The lead actors for “Blood Moon” are Megalyn Echikunwoke and Yonas Kibreab. Among the main supporting cast alongside Rodriguez, feature Joshua Dov, Jack Yang, and Gareth Williams. Additional cast includes Jan Munroe, Brian Norris, Danielle Juliet Me, and Patrick W. Day. “Blood Moon” is directed by Emma Tammi and co-written by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes.

Rodriguez is a veteran actor on both the stage and screen. His talent has been seen in a variety of film and television programs, such as The Rookie, The Crow, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Velvet Buzzsaw, NYPD Blue, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Hill Street Blues. He also performed stunts for the action-packed Denzel Washington crime drama Man on Fire.

Blood Moon follows mother Esme (Echikunwoke) and her ten-year-old son Luna (Kibreab), as they settle in a small desert town, looking forward to a fresh start. Unfortunately, they draw unwanted attention from the inquisitive locals. The more the locals pry into their personal business, Esme must protect Luna and their deep dark secret, before the next full moon sets, jeopardizing their lives.

Into The Dark releases a feature-length installment a month. All of the installments combine a holiday theme, with the signature style of the Blumhouse genre films, especially horror and thriller.    

Both Tammi and Mason have previously directed installments for Into The Dark. Tammi directed the 2020 Mother’s Day installment Delivered. While Mason directed two installments from Season One, including the April Fool’s installment Just F*cking With You, and the Father’s Day installment They Come Knocking.

Executive producers for Blood Moon are Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Lauren Downey, Alexander Koehne, Adam Mason, Simon Boyes, and John Hegeman.

The post The Cast of ‘Into The Dark’ Season Two Finale to Include Marco Rodriguez first appeared on .

By Justina Bonilla

Blumhouse Television, in partnership with Amazon Prime Video, released a film series of original horror films for the month of October under the banner “Welcome to the Blumhouse”. These films include The Lie, Black Box, Evil Eye, and Nocturne.

Among the four films is the psychological sci-fi thriller Black Box. Directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour and written by Stephen Herman and Osei-Kuffour, the films follows newly widowed father Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) and his young daughter Ava (Amanda Christine).

Nolan tries to rebuild his and Ava’s lives, after a car tragic accident which caused the loss of his wife and severely damaged his memory. Desperate for a way to get his memory back, Nolan subjects himself to a experimental memory treatment called Black Box, by the renowned specialist Dr. Lilian Brooks (Phylicia Rashad). However, the longer Nolan participates in Black Box, the more he sees visions that force him to face memories and fears beyond his worst imagination.   

Visually bringing to life both the outside world and the inner world of Nolan’s mind is Mexican cinematographer Hilda Mercado. In an exclusive interview with Mercado, she shares with us her passion for photography, her cinematography career, and her participation in Black Box.

A SUMMER IN BRITAIN
Originally from Mexico, Mercado first developed her passion for still photography at age 15, when she went to England to learn English during a summer. Along with her English classes, Mercado participated in journalism courses. “That’s where it started unconsciously because I had to [tell] a story with images,” she recalls.

Continuing her education, Mercado earned a bachelor’s degree in communications. Initially, she was pursuing advertising. However, when she experienced films classes, she made the conscious decision to pursue cinematography. “I fell in love with the process of reading a story, and how are we going to visually support that story,” she says. “I love to think about the lenses and each lens has a personality. And how we just choose those lenses.”

Mercado further elaborated on her passion for cinematography. “I love to think about lighting,” she says. “I love to read the script, to break it down. That whole process that you are thinking about a story. How you are going to light it. Then you actually see it. I love that process.” She adds, “I love the collaboration. I love to sit down and to talk to the director and the production designer.”

THE POWER OF COLORS
Understanding the strength of colors in storytelling is another essential aspect of cinematography. Mercado emphasized, “I like that we play with color. Because color tells a story. The way you dress, or something that changes within the story. I like to design the movies on what I hear from the director, based on color. It’s not only the look, but also [the] person. What are the colors that surround this person in their life, in the story?”

“Colors are emotions,” Mercado says. “Are we going to support the characters of the stories with pastels colors in their house or maybe not? Maybe it’s the lack of color?”. She gives an example. “Maybe, this [character] is boring. And we portray that with the greys. Maybe something changes in their life and we put a red flower in the [background].”

To strengthen her knowledge and abilities as a cinematographer and camera operator, Mercado also participated in numerous International film and video workshops in Rockpoint, Maine, which focused on camera and lighting. Later, she earned her master’s in fine arts in cinematography from the distinguished American Film Institute of Los Angeles. She is also a member of the exclusive Mexican Society of Cinematographers, AMC.

CAMERAWOMAN CREDITS
As a camera operator, Mercado has worked on numerous television programs and films, including the popular true crime documentary television program 48-Hours, the Netflix pop-culture phenomenon Stranger Things, the critically acclaimed The Nice Guys, the award winning winning I, Tonya, and the cult-classic comedy Kung Pow: Enter the Fist.

As a cinematographer, Mercado has contributed her talent to a variety of projects, from commercials, short films, and television series to documentaries and feature films such as the television series Dead Silent and The Resident, the documentary Women Behind the Camera, and the Brawny campaign for #strenghthasnogender.

Mercado became involved with Black Box through the cinematographer of Evil Eye, Yaron Levy, whom she met at AFI. Levy introduced her to Blumhouse as the cinematographer that he felt best fit Black Box. After reading the Black Box script, Mercado indeed wanted to be a part of the project. “There’s so many challenges,” she says. “There’s so many themes. There’s so many colors.”
About collaborating with director Osei-Kuffour, Mercado says “It was nice to work with him, because he already had a lot of things [thought out].” With an array of visual ideas already connected to this script, Mercado was able to create the vivid scenes to compliment this visually complex story.

“I love that challenge of the different worlds, the different looks and the different spaces,” she says. Among the multiple Black Box scenes, two of Mercado’s favorite take place at a the church and an apartment, scenes set in the subconscious mind of Nolan.

In terms of effects for Black Box, more emphasis was put on practical effects, with very minimal CG visual effects, according to the cinematographer. “(In) a lot of transitions, we were just [using] a dolly and pushing it in and back, [with] different lighting cues,” she says. “At the very beginning [we] were in one room, and then just doing the transition with our dolly, then ended up in another lighting cue. And then, digital effects would blend the beginning and the end. But everything we did [with] practical [effects]”.

PROMINENT MEXICAN CINEMATOGRAPHERS
With the rise and notoriety of Mexican cinematographers in American cinema, such as Emmanuel Lubezki, Guillermo Navarro, Alfonzo Cuaron, and Rodrigo Prieto, Mercado sees Mexican culture as a major influence in this field. “I believe that culturally, Mexico has a lot of color, a lot of texture, a lot of flavor, and a lot of smells,” she says. “I think from the beginning we are basically surrounded by that. That influences how we see the world. How we use that to help tell the story.”

With Mercado’s ability to blend every aspect of the story into a pageantry of color, moods and textures to display each vivid scene, she creatures a distinctive visual experience. We look forward to seeing her work expand into other television and feature film projects.

Black Box is available to stream or buy/rent on Amazon Prime Video.

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The post Exclusive Interview: The Cinematographer of “Black Box” Hilda Mercado first appeared on .

Both Blumhouse Productions and Blumhouse Television are keeping busy with the release of a variety of projects, including two films (The Craft: Legacy and Freaky) and one miniseries (The Good Lord Bird).

Among the vast talents presented in the Blumhouse projects are Latino talents in prominent roles. Each actor shines in their role, adding to the appeal of the ensemble cast of each project.

The Good Lord Bird

Network/Streaming: Showtime and Hulu

Release Date: October 4 to November 15

The episode airing on October 25 of the miniseries The Good Lord Bird, titled Smells like Gorilla, features the introduction of the reoccurring character John Cook, played by actor Rafael Casal. Cook, is introduced during John Brown (Ethan Hawke)’s fundraising mission. He is a member of Brown’s band of misfit, yet loyal rebels. 

Casal is a writer, performer, and producer originally from the San Francisco Bay area. Casal’s first television appearance was performing on three seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, and is a content creator online, with millions of YouTube/Facebook views for his music, poetry, web shorts, and political commentary. His theater-in-verse work has brought him around the country and the world both in the realm of activism and art performance at hundreds of colleges and venues. Casal is the co-founder and artistic director of the BARS workshop at the Public Theater in New York.

Casal and fellow actor/rapper Daveed Diggs collaborated on the film Blindspotting which released in 2018. The pair wrote, produced, and starred in the film that uses verse to tell the story of their hometown of Oakland. Casal is set to make his directorial debut in First Sight, a sci-fi romantic comedy about falling asleep to find the person of your dreams

The Craft: Legacy

Streaming: Fandango Now, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, VUDU

Release Date: October 28

The sequel to the classic 1996 film The Craft, directed by writer, producer, and actor Zoe Lister-Jones (New Girl, Life in Pieces, and Whitney). The Craft: Legacy follows four high school girls who create their own witch’s coven. As their newfound powers grow, they grapple to control them. One of the members of this coven is Zoey Luna.

Luna is an up and coming actress and transgender activist, identifying as a transgender Latina. Transitioning at a young age, with support from her mother, Luna was able to share her story as a young TransLatina and the challenges she faced in school, to be respected as the gender she identified with, in the television documentaries The T Word and Raising Zoey.

Later, Luna was featured in the HBO documentary four-part series 15: A Quinceañera Story, documenting the journey to her Quinceañera and what it symbolized to her and her family. From her participation in documentaries, Luna has gone on to appear as an actress in the trailblazing award-winning television program Pose.

Freaky

Release: Limited theatrical release

Release Date: November 13

A unique teen horror comedy, where Freaky Friday meets 1980’s teen slasher. Shy high school student Millie (Kathryn Newton) accidentally through the supernatural switches bodies with a prolific seal killer (Vince Vaughn). Millie, with the help of her friends, must switch back bodies within 24-hours, or else the switch will be permanent. Among the supporting high school classmate roles is Ryler (Melissa Collazo).

Collazo first major acting role was as a recurring character in the popular horror fantasy Netflix series Stranger Things, as a middle school student and gamer. Collazo has also been featured in the CW series Swamp Thing, as the lead character Abby Acrane (Crystal Reed), when she was a teenager.

The post Blumhouse: Highlighting Latino Talent in Upcoming Films first appeared on .

By Justina Bonilla

Blumhouse Productions has become an influential voice in Hollywood with its diverse Academy Award-winning dramas (Whiplash (2014), Get Out (2017), and BlacKKKlansman (2018) and signature micro-budget strategy. However, it is beloved among horror fans for its influential pop-culture horror films (Get Out, Paranormal Activity (2009), and The Purge (2013).

A unique aspect of Blumhouse’s horror properties is its increasing inclusion of ethnic talent, including Latinos in front of and behind the camera. Most notably The Purge the USA/Syfy television series, the Hulu Into the Dark anthology series, and the feature film Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. 

Latino audiences are major consumers of horror content, especially films. In 2018 The Wrap reported that, “According Warner Bros. and comScore data from [The Nun’s] $53.5 million domestic opening weekend, the best for a Conjuring film and second-best for a September release, 36% of the audience was Latino, up from 17% for The Conjuring and 26% for last year’s Annabelle: Creation. On top of that, Mexico was the top overseas market with $10.7 million grossed.”

Blumhouse was founded by Jason Blum in 2000 where he currently serves as CEO and producer for several of its film and television projects. The production company became a contemporary Hollywood trailblazer with its philosophy of micro-budget films, with high concept stories, and giving filmmakers creative freedom. Their first horror hit was the groundbreaking Paranormal Activity. Made for $15,000 (Paramount added another $200,000 in post before it was released) the film went on to earn nearly $200 million worldwide. The success of their first film led to Blumhouse producing five more prequels and sequels, creating the Paranormal Activity film series franchise comprised of some of the most profitable and popular horror films in Hollywood, most notably among Latino audiences.

“Latinos make up a significant portion of the theater-going audience, and they are a valuable audience for Blumhouse,” Blum declares. “We know that our audiences want to see themselves in the stories they see on the big screen and we’re committed to bringing more stories to life, that reflect different backgrounds, points of view, and people.”

Blumhouse has an array of theatrically released horror films starring Latino leads; from Jennifer Lopez in The Boy Next Door (2015) to Jessica Alba in The Veil (2016) and Michael Peña in Fantasy Island (2020). Their other films that feature Latino leads include, The Green Inferno (2015) and Paranormal Activities: The Marked Ones (2014). Latinos have also appeared in supportive roles, most notably in the second film of The Purge series, The Purge: Anarchy (2014), such as Nicholas Gonzalez (The Good Doctor), Justina Machado (One Day At A Time), and Noel Gugliemi (Training Day).]

Paranormal Activities: The Marked Ones, is one of the films from the six-film Paranormal Activities franchise, which had a total franchise budget of $28 million and a worldwide gross of $890.5 million. This film was specifically Latino themed with Latino leads. With a $5 million dollar budget, its worldwide gross was nearly $91 million. Its cast of young Latino actors featured Andrew Jacobs (Trinkets), Jorge Diaz (East Los High), Richard Cabral (Mayans MC), and Carlos Pratts (McFarland USA).

After the financial success of the four The Purge films, (The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge: Election Year (2016), and The First Purge (2018), with a combined budget of $35 million dollars, and a total worldwide gross of $457.1 million, that’s when the TV series followed.

In an exclusive interview with Latin Heat, Marci Wiseman, and Jeremy Gold, the two Co-Presidents of Blumhouse Television spoke with us about the importance of Latinos at Blumhouse, both as fans and content creators.

“It makes us enormously proud and happy that these filmmakers of such unique talents are getting recognized and their work is so well received,” Gold explained. “That is incredibly gratifying for us, of course, and for them. And as a studio across both film and television, we are deeply committed to not only discovering, but also continuing to nurture and provide a real platform for upcoming diverse voices.”

The USA/Syfy TV series The Purge (2018-2019) follows the basic plot of the film series. A contemporary America under a totalitarian government, which allows the legalization of all crimes for one day a year, from 7 PM to 7 AM, including the worst kinds of murder possible.

Series regulars in season one featured Gabriel Chavarria and Jessica Garza as brother and sister Miguel and Penelope Guerrero. Miguel, a US marine is desperately looking for Penelope during the Purge, to save her from becoming a Purge sacrifice. While, season two featured Paola Núñez as Esme Carmona, an NFFA government employee. Though Carmona sees herself as a valuable employee, she eventually becomes an enemy of the state. The Latino directorial talent for The Purge includes Jamie Reynoso (S2. E9. “Grief Box”) and Gigi Saul Guerrero (S2. E9. “Hail Mary”).

Gold explained the decision to hire Latino directors and talent in the lead roles for The Purge TV show, “We really value [the Latinx] fan base highly and we actively work to make sure that, that was represented across the series, and it was partially important on that show, [for] both of the talent in front of and behind the camera. And we are very proud of that The Purge series,” he said. “We had lots of Latinx directors and writers. That element of the series really seemed to land with the audience.”

Since 2018, Blumhouse’s streaming horror anthology Hulu series Into the Dark, releases a new installment each month, highlighting American holidays from Fourth of July to Christmas. This series has been a highly successful vehicle for showcasing the work of several Latino directors.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, three out of the top five highest-rated Into the Dark episodes, Culture Shock, Pooka!, and Pooka Lives!, were directed by Latinos.

Culture Shock, directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero, takes a gritty look at the border crisis issue. Marisol (Martha Higareda), a young Mexican woman takes the risk of crossing undocumented into America for her “American Dream”, only to find herself in a nightmare beyond her wildest dreams.

When selecting Guerrero to be a part of the Into the Dark series, Wiseman shared, “The feature [film] department is very aware of Gigi’s multitude of shorts, all in the horror space and had been keeping their eye on her.” After Guerrero pitched her take on the material, Wiseman noted, “We loved her take. We loved what she said she was going to do with it. And the rest is history.” The trust in Guerrero paid off. Culture Shock is rated on Rotten Tomatoes at 100%.

Pooka! directed by Nacho Vigalondo is a unique Christmas horror tale. After struggling actor Wilson (Nyasha Hatendi) finds success as the Pooka mascot, he starts to see that Pooka bring out aside of him he’s struggling to control. The sequel Pooka Lives!, directed by Alejandro Brugués, takes the Pooka horror online. A group of friends create the online challenge #pookachallange as a joke, only for the challenge to go viral, causing deadly results.

“[Into the Dark] became a really great forum for us to work with all kinds of film makers, from all different walks of life,” Wiseman explained.

The Blumhouse backed Crypt TV is a successful digital network co-founded by Jack Davis and director/writer Eli Roth. Crypt TV focuses on making short horror web content, including individual short horror videos and multiple series of short horror videos. Their YouTube channel has over three-million subscribers and over 460 short videos, with millions of views. Many of the shorts feature diverse talent and content makers, most notably Guerrero.

Earlier this year Blumhouse Television announced it had secured the rights to adapt the popular two-season horror podcast The Horror of Dolores Roach into a drama series for TV. Podcast creator Aaron Mark will serve as showrunner for the Amazon series which follow Roach (Daphne Rubin-Vega) upon her return to her New York neighborhood after a sixteen-year stint in prison.

Mexican writer and director Issa López (Tigers Are Not Afraid) was announced in May 2020, to be writing and directing the film Our Lady of Tears for Blumhouse, based on the article “The Haunting of Girlstown” by VOX.com. In 2007, Villa de las Niñas, an all-girls Catholic boarding school on the fringes of Mexico City, faced an epidemic of mass hysteria, with supernatural origins.

Blumhouse’s outreach within the Latino community was further cemented in January of this year when Blum partnered with LA Collab, an organization which seeks to collaborate with industry talent and entities to create opportunities for Latinos in Hollywood. Blum shared with Latin Heat how he became involved, “One of LA Collab’s co-founders Ivette Rodriguez reached out to Blumhouse’s Head of Marketing, Karen Barragan about the collaboration, and when she told me about the initiative I was eager to throw our support behind the effort.”

Blum went on to explain, “We have found LA Collab to be a great resource in connecting us with top talent and filmmakers, and we really liked that LA Collab had a clearly defined goal of increasing authentic Latino representation (in front and behind the camera) in the entertainment industry by 100% by 2030.”

Blum joined a multitude of Hollywood luminaries and other production entities which include director JJ Abrams, Eva Longoria, Ozzie Areu of Areu Bros. Studios, Warner Media, producer Eli Roth, and actor/producers Edward James Olmos and Eugenio Derbez for the launch of LA Collab, which was founded in partnership with the Office of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Blumhouse has become a leading force in the horror industry by showing its ability to find, nurture, and elevate talent of color in horror. “Traditionally, we have always loved ghost stories and the macabre and Gothic tales,” Edwin Pagan, who runs the horror genre centric latinhorror.com, told NPR in 2015. “They’re just sewn into the fabric of who we are as a people.” And so, the avid Latino audience awaits to see what new “horror” Blumhouse has in store for them.

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is streaming on Apple iTunes, Amazon Prime Video and other major platforms.

The Purge tv series is streaming on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and other major platforms.

Into the Dark is exclusively streaming on Hulu.

The post Blumhouse: Finding Horror Success With Latinos first appeared on .

Amazon Studios and Blumhouse Productions will be bringing Welcome to Blumhouse, a series of horror movies that will stream on Amazon Prime Video in October. The trailer for Welcome to the Blumhouse shows eerie glimpses of each movie. There will be a total of eight movies, the first four coming out in October and the following in 2021. Welcome to the Blumhouse launches right on time for the demand of new scary movies for Halloween. The first two movies of the series, The Lie and Black Box are set to come out on October 6th. Followed by Nocturne and Evil Eye on October 13th. 

The Welcome to the Blumhouse trailer is scary and leaves you wanting to know more about each storyline. Starting off with The Lie and Black Box on October 6th. According to movie insiders, The Lie is about a teenage girl who murders her best friend and then tells her parents about it. The parents try to protect their daughter and attempt to cover up the murder. Starring Joey King (The Kissing Booth), Mireille Enos (The Killing), and Peter Sarsgaard (An Education). Black Box is about a single father who loses his wife and memory in a car accident. He undergoes an experimental treatment that makes him question reality. Starring Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World 3), Phylicia Rashad (Creed), and Amanda Christine (Colony).

The second set of movies Nocture and Evil Eye come out October 13th. Nocturne takes place in an elite art academy, where a young musician starts to outshine her twin sister by reading a dead girl’s notebook. Starring Sydney Sweeny (Euphoria), Madison Iseman (Jumanji: The Next Level), and Jacques Colimon (The Society). Evil Eye starts off with a happy couple turned sour. The mother believes her daughter’s boyfriend somehow has a dark affiliation to her past. Starring Sarita Choudhury (Mississippi Masala), Sunita Mani (GLOW), and Omar Maskait (Unbelievable).

Blumhouse has a series of four new Welcome to Blumhouse projects currently in production which will be released in 2021. The work of Latino directors will be showcased in this series of films.

The post “Welcome to the Blumhouse” Horror Movie Series first appeared on .

Written by Roberto Leal

Dateline: San Antonio, Texas

Speaking of island…

Yesterday, I was having lunch at the Sea Island Restaurant with a group of friends. I asked one of them, Millennial Millie, if she remembered the old TV show, Fantasy Island. She looked at me with that puzzled look that so many of her generation get whenever asked a historical or cultural reference question that goes back more than five years.

Well, old geezers like me, certainly remember Fantasy Island, the TV show, with Latino Legend, Ricardo Montalban, and his diminutive sidekick, Hervé Villechaize. Every Saturday from 1977 to 1984, Montalban, as Mr. Roarke, and Villechaize, as Tattoo would greet a plane load of guests to the resort island with Tattoo announcing their arrival by ringing the bell, pointing to the sky and proclaiming: “Ze plane. Ze plane.”

Then it dawned on me. Millennial Millie was born in 1984, so, of course, the iconic TV show never crossed her cultural radar screen or Smart Phone. But I was looking forward to the movie remake, which premiered today. My interest was piqued by a recent GQ Magazine article hailing the Sony Picture and Blumhouse production remake as “2020’s First Great Horror Movie.” Blumhouse is the studio that made us wet our collective movie-going pants with two recent horror hits: Us and Get Out. 

Fantasy Island  director, Jeff Wadlow had previously teamed up with writers, Jillian Jackson and Chris Roach on 2019’s Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, a spooky offering with a similar motif as this re-incarnation of Fantasy Island: a seemingly harmless and promising beginning turns horribly bad for the unsuspecting participants. Wadlow also directed the TV series, Bates Motel, so this creative team knows from scary.

But what about Mr. Roarke?

Michael Peña has been given the difficult task of resurrecting one of TV’s most memorable, enigmatic and mysterious TV characters: Mr. Roarke. For me, one of the most enduring mysteries about Mr. Roarke, was how the character, as played by Montalban, the suave, courtly Mexican with the cultured accent wound up with an Irish last name, running a resort for dreamers on a remote, tropical island. 

But Peña proves to be a good choice. The son of Mexican immigrants, Peña’s Mr. Roarke, retains that aura of mystery, but in a younger, cooler, hipper persona. Peña has an extensive and impressive filmography. I especially liked him in War on Everyone, (2016).

In a YouTube interview, Peña reflected on the challenge of playing Mr. Roarke and his approach to the part.

Back in the misty, prehistoric TV days of yore, Mr. Roarke would grant the guests their fantasies, with a price, of course. The episodes were frequently morality plays. The price of those fantasies was often a dark, unhappy ending for the guests.

However, in this updated rendition of Fantasy Island, Mr. Roarke grants each of the guests one fantasy, but they must follow the rules of the island. They must pursue their fantasy, no matter where they lead, to its logical conclusion. But when the fantasies inevitably turn into nightmares, the guests must solve the island’s mystery in order to escape with their lives.

The story follows the various fantasies as each one grows darker and creepier. Things start to get confusing as the fantasies overlap with each other and wind up merging. Eventually, after a series of hair-raising, often violent, sequences, the fantasies, in the end, reach a logical conclusion, with a surprise twist.

Fantasy Island is a fast-paced, action, adventure, horror, thriller, laced with moments of humor. The youthful, attractive cast headed by Peña, along with Lucy Hale, Maggie Q. and Portia Doubleday, will appeal to those younger movie-goers who don’t remember the original TV show.

So, to Millennial Millie: “Welcome to Fantasy Island“. To my fellow, aging, creaky, sometimes cranky, Baby Boomers, who loved the TV show: Welcome Back to Fantasy Island. But be careful what you wish for, in this version of Fantasy Island, you arrive on a plane, but you could leave in a body bag.

FANTASY ISLAND

Sony Pictures / Blumhouse

Rated PG-13

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Screenwriters: Jillian Jackson, Chris roach

FULL CAST

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