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[Interview] ‘My Dead Ones’ Director Diego Freitas on His Serial Killer Horror Film

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Released by TMA Releasing this Halloween is the Brazilian horror-mystery My Dead Ones, in which a shy film student (Nicolas Prattes) hides an obscure past that is about to be revealed.

“David, a shy film student, loves filming people around him. He takes notice of an old and neglected lady living alone in the next building who he decides to film before putting her out of her misery. Waking up in his bed the morning after, David finds the woman cooking breakfast. She is alive and looking healthy. As David questions Maria’s presence, he will find out that Maria has a sinister mission for him.

“David will kill and share his love for killing all through the lens of his camera and the help of the darknet.”

Bloody Disgusting caught up with director Diego Freitas to chat about My Dead Ones, inspired by the many serial killer films and how they tormented their victims.

“The first idea came from an observation of the serial killer films, and how they were often tormented by their victims. So I thought: what if the spirits showed up to say ‘thank you’ and to take care of their killer? From that point and relationship, I created this serial killer story, a monster born from the consequences of his childhood.”

He continues: “My idea was to show only the protagonist’s point of view where we would not differentiate what was real from what was not. In this way, we can penetrate deeply into the secrets of a troubled mind. In addition, I wanted the script to be universal, not locating the story in a specific place – lost in time and space – just like David’s head.”

Freitas tells us the film’s biggest influences, which range from It Follows to Psycho.

“My Dead Ones has a lot of different film references, not just horror movies,” he explains. “I was very inspired by It Follows, mainly for its aesthetics. I also remember being inspired by Shutter Island, in that crazy relationship and all the flashbacks. Black Swan was very important to me at the time, and it was the first film I watched together with Nicolas Prattes, the main actor. Thanks to that film, I could show him the psychological aspect of the characters. Psycho and Nightcrawler were next. We also paid a great tribute to the famous Irreversible scene. I think we achieved a different and special kind of film with My Dead Ones.”

Looking up to Darren Aronofsky, Guillermo Del Toro, The Wachowskis, M. Night Shyamalan, Ari Aster, and Fernando Meirelles, Freitas tells us that My Dead Ones was the kind of film he needed to make at the time.

“I think you always write and imagine a movie but when it comes to shoot it and later edit it, the final result is different than what you imagined in the first place,” he explained. “It is a process of transformation, nothing is static, we are in a constant change ourselves as well. It’s part of the game, and probably today I would do it differently, but I think the end result sums up what I was at that specific period of time. It was an important film for me. It showed me the way, and it is a film I believe I needed to do.

Next up for Freitas is more horror.

“I just finished the script for my next film. A supernatural horror from the female point of view.”


My Dead Ones is now out in North America, UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, and available on iTunes, Google Play, Vimeo and Amazon Direct Video and others.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Interviews

‘Immaculate’ Director Michael Mohan on Religious Horror and Why You Can’t Pull Punches [Halloweenies Podcast]

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Immaculate SXSW Horror

This weekend, Neon is releasing its highly anticipated new slice of horror Immaculate. Directed by Michael Mohan, Sydney Sweeney stars as an American nun named Cecilia who joins a remote convent in the Italian countryside. What begins as a warm welcome quickly devolves into a living nightmare as Cecilia discovers her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors. You can see it with a crowd this Friday.

In anticipation, Halloweenies co-host/executive producer Michael Roffman sits down with director Michael Mohan to discuss how he approached making his first horror film. Together, the two chat about the effects of religious horror in 2024, Sweeney’s Scream Queen magic, the ending everyone’s going to be talking about, and why Horror needs zero rules. He also offers some choice Horror recommendations.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, and this past year’s Chucky! This year? The Alien franchise.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Jaws), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Invasion of the Body Snatchers ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

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