Nuns, the wrongfully interned and supernatural forces converge on an asylum, playing duelling protagonists, in “Auxilio,” the latest film from Argentina’s multi-faceted genre darling, Tamae Garateguy (“She Wolf”). Del Toro Films has provided Variety with sometimes exclusive, behind-the-scenes stills from the project, currently in the final phases of post-production.
In true Garateguy fashion, the film promises a thrilling dose of psychological distress alongside its gore, and benefits from the keen gaze of its director, highly-female cast and production crew.
Set in Buenos Aires during the first military coup, the film takes an uneasy glance at a myriad of taboos, knocking its moral compass loose to ensure the distress hops off-screen; to stick with its audience long after they’ve left the theater.
Stills show Tamae alongside the cast and crew, her neon-pink hair in stark contrast to the drab, moody grounds of the infirmary and the dark hues of the carefully-curated wardrobe.
Antiquated set dressing and hazy lighting lend a spectral aesthetic allure, with one photo revealing Garateguy beside Colombian actress Marcela Benjumea (“El Robo Del Siglo”) as she sits at a desk, pensive, light bathing her face.
Garateguy dutifully directs an astute cast into character, with stills also depicting Cumelen Sanz (“Penelope”), who plays Emilia, the figure at the axis of the paranormal happenings.
Earlier this week, the director attended Ventana Sur’s Blood Window Fant.Latina, a sidebar dedicated to women in genre cinema, where she confirmed her plans to helm the sex-doll shocker, “Fucking Sexy.”
Del Toro and Furia Films also shop Daniel de la Vega’s (“On The 3rd Day”) “The Last Heretic.” A previous Blood Window selection, the film enjoyed a sold-out debut screening at last month’s Mar del Plata International Film Festival and vividly nods to the battle between good and evil.
Written by Sergio Esquenazi, the plot follows renowned fiction writer Juan, an atheist who suffers a heart attack causing him to spiral into a twisted and mind-numbing rebirth and descent.
The project has drawn comparisons to provocative thrillers like “Rosemary’s Baby” and offers-up deeply visceral visuals that snap the devastating narrative to life, wholly cerebral with carnage included.
“With Del Toro Films, we’ve presented previous titles by De la Vega “Necrophobia”and “White Coffin,” players at top genre film festivals, we’ve reached worldwide audiences on Netflix,” Arelis Ruiz, head of international sales and distribution at Del Toro Films, told Variety. “‘On The 3rd Day,’ which premiered globally at Fantasia, is now a Shudder exclusive and was released days ago by HBO Max for all of Latam.”
She concluded: “I’m teaming up with producers Néstor Sánchez Sotelo and Daniel de la Vega again for “The Last Heretic,” we’re thrilled to go international and reach audiences.”
Del Toro and Furia, currently fielding sales for both titles, plan for a broad global release in 2023, after an anticipated spate of debuts on the festival circuit.
“Auxilio,” BTS
Credit: Lucas Cheja / Del Toro Films, Furia Films