With shaky-cam, documentary style horror films, directors aim to immerse us in the worlds of their characters. We follow them around tight corners and see through their eyes as they run into a flesh hungry demon. Or perhaps, we watch them stupidly argue with their girlfriend about staying in the house to become victim to said demon, but I digress. This sub-genre actually has a strong track record with The Blair Witch Project, [REC], Quarantine, Paranormal Activity leading the way. But now, La Casa Muda (The Silent House), an independent film from Uruguay, is bringing something new to the shaky-cam table.
First, full disclosure. I was contacted by one of the film’s producers, who gave me some info about La Casa Muda. I get things like this from time to time but usually I don’t write about them because frankly, I don’t care but this one piqued my interest since this sub-genre is one of my favorites. Now that that’s out of the way…
What makes La Casa Muda most interesting is that it is the first horror movie to be filmed in one continuous shot. That’s right – no cuts, edits, nothing. Director Gustavo Hernandez needed to painstakingly plan every single shot and aspect of his 72-minute film before ever pressing the record button. Cynics may say that this approach begs for mess-ups, flubbed lines, and poor acting but I’m being positive about this one. I’m excited by the idea. Also interesting is that this film was shot using the video capabilities of a digital SLR photo camera, specifically the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, making it the second film of its kind in the world (according to the producers – I couldn’t find the other one).
La Casa Muda is based on a real event that took place in 1944 in an old Uruguay farmhouse where two brutally tortured bodies were found without their tongues. Disturbing photographs found a the scene were key to solving the crime. Based on what I’ve read, it seems that Hernandez takes this real event and uses it as the backdrop for his plot:
Laura (Florencia Colucci) and her father (Gustavo Alonso) settle down in a cottage which seems to be off the beaten track in order to update it since its owner (Abel Tripaldi) will soon put it up for sale. They spend the night there in order to start the repairs. Everything seems to go smoothly until Laura hears a sound that comes from outside and gets louder and louder in the upper floors of the house. The father goes upstairs to investigate while Laura remains downstairs.
Pretty bare bones for a description, but I’m intrigued. If nothing else, I’m interested to see how effective a $6,000 72-minute continuous shot can be. Based on the stills I’ve seen, it looks pretty damn good. La Casa Muda is set to premiere at a few film festivals next month. The official website has some more info (if you speak Spanish). Check out the trailer too.
#1 by DLR on February 2nd, 2010
I think it’s a cool concept. Check out the movie, “Running Time”, with Bruce Campbell. It’s not completely continuous shooting but it’s damn near close.
#2 by Greg on February 3rd, 2010
One continuous shot? Really. Huh. I dunno if I should be wary, but that is very impressive.
#3 by Matt on February 4th, 2010
Sounds interesting to me. Looks like it has potential, but you can never tell.
#4 by Brendan O'Shea on March 2nd, 2010
…Except the 5DII has a recording limit of 13 minutes. If the movie is 72 minutes long, there must have been at least 4 cuts somewhere.
#5 by Matt on March 2nd, 2010
Hmm…interesting.