Brazilian Outlaw Cinema, pt. 3 — Felipe M. Guerra
Felipe M. Guerra has done a little bit of everything in the world of filmmaking. He’s written, directed, acted, and runs Necrofilos Producoes Artisticas. He’s made short films (Bring Me the Head of Antonio Mayans; The Augusta Street Ripper), feature-length films (Entrei em Panico… pts 1 & 2), and documentaries (Fantasticozzi; Deodato Holocaust). Felipe has been nothing but helpful to the new guy (aka: me) in the class., and he’s a very knowledgeable fellow, writing about film not only on his own page, but also over at Medium. I’m excited to say that most, if not all, of this content is exclusive here, having not been included in the Splatterpunk article due to time/space constraints.
Nervousmaker - Do you feel that Brazilian horror / genre films are influenced by the social / political climate, and if so, in what way?
Felipe M. Guerra - I think so, as all horror has always been in cinema, literature, comics, and so on. The difference, perhaps, is that since 2000 this influence appears with little subtlety in Brazilian films. I'll give you an example: in the 1980s, a guy named Jair Correia made a slasher film called Shock (1984) in which young people were murdered by a mysterious killer, and the viewer could only see the villain's feet. The guy was wearing military boots, in a reference to the Military Dictatorship which was beginning to end in Brazil in the 1980s. It's really a subtle comment, and a lot of people didn't even notice it at the time, unless they read an interview with the director explaining this stuff. But if the same film were made today, the killer would probably not only appear with military boots, he would also be wearing a military uniform and singing our national anthem during each murder! You see, I have nothing against using horror as an excuse to make critical comments about society. Just look at what George Romero did with his zombies, illustrating very specific moments in the history of the United States through horror films that still work as such, regardless of its political context. In Brazil right now it’s very common for filmmakers to disguise their horror stories as dramas or stories focused on the social aspect, especially when competing for government funds. As the country doesn’t have a film industry, or studios making pictures on an industrial scale, the Brazilian filmmaker needs to either self-finance his films, or seek resources from the private sector, or (apply for) government funds. Most choose this third way, but the rules are very strict about what you can and cannot do to be approved in these edicts. Therefore a traditional horror film would hardly be approved, and this leads filmmakers to appeal to “mixtures” of drama with supernatural elements to get their projects approved. I have nothing against it, I just think that this thing of using horror to make social criticism loses its strength when it’s presented in a very stated, open way, practically rubbing it in the audience's face, you know? For example, there’s a recent film called O Rastro (The Trace We Leave Behind, 2017), directed by J. C. Feyer, that begins as an ordinary ghost story in an incredible abandoned hospital. But in the final act it turns into a huge mess about political corruption and embezzlement of government resources. I think there are films that bring those things together in a better way, such as Trabalhar Cansa (Hard Labor, 2011), by Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas, which addresses the drama of unemployment in Brazil, and focuses on some negative characteristics inherent to the middle class, while using very subtle horror elements. Or Mormaço (Sultry, 2018), by Marina Meliande, which uses a real episode as a backdrop – the way that Rio de Janeiro government expropriated popular housing at the time of the Olympics in Brazil. These are two films where socio-political criticism are mixed with horror and the fantastic in a balanced way. But unfortunately both are the exception, not the rule. Our filmmakers still need to learn to do this more subtly. I've lost count of how many recent horror films portray the middle class or politicians in a villainous and cartoonish way, something that is even more evident given the country's climate of political polarization nowadays. But take a look: the real Brazil is being ruled by a living nightmare called Jair Bolsonaro and by lots of people (and not just middle-class people) who truly believe that the return of the Military Dictatorship is the best option! In other words, you can't invent a fictional character that borders on the same level of surreal and bizarre! So give up, try to invent something new and original. The reality is much worse. Let's change the subject a little, guys!
Nervousmaker - Is there a specific "Brazil" style when it comes to horror / genre films? Something uniquely Brazilian about your films and those of your peers?
Felipe M. Guerra - It’s curious that you ask this because I have just made a research with the theme “Brazilian Horror from 1995 to 2020,” and I tried to find something that would characterize our genre cinema production. I have read many opinions of other researchers on the topic, with which I do not entirely agree. Such as the fact that our cinema focuses on social issues (not always, and even then it is not exclusive to Brazilian horror cinema). Or the fact that the protagonists tend to be more oppressed or marginalized characters (I think it’s not like that at all, and even if it was, that’s not exclusive to Brazilian horror cinema either). Something I really notice about genre cinema made in Brazil, especially in those last 25 years, is that it’s basically divided into two styles. First, there is a horror cinema that seeks to be more “artistic,” that embraces the drama with some very sporadic and subtle elements of horror, and that is often very successful at festivals – not just specific horror film festivals, but also respected film festivals in general, like Rotterdam and Venice. Who really does “official horror,” without fear or shame of embracing elements like extreme violence and monsters displayed in all their glory, are the most independent filmmakers, and as a result these films are limited to a certain niche and rarely receive commercial release. Little by little, some of these more underground filmmakers are starting to reach the mainstream, such as Rodrigo Aragão, who made a series of low-budget films with zombies and demons (Mud Zombies, The Night of the Chupacabras) and right now is making movies costing almost R$ 3 million reais (535,000 dollars, a fortune by Brazilian standards). These guys usually take their repertoire of blood, monsters, and repulsive special effects to more expensive productions, but in general I think that Brazilian horror cinema has this very striking division: a more subtle and more introspective horror produced for festivals, and a more traditional and bloody horror, rarely experimental, to feed fans of the genre, but which ends up not reaching a large audience because it rarely reaches movie theaters at all.
Nervousmaker - What are the most important and influential horror / genre films / filmmakers of Brazil?
Felipe M. Guerra - I think the most important and influential name of Brazilian horror remains José Mojica Marins, the pioneer of our horror cinema and the creator of a 100% Brazilian character, Coffin Joe. Just imagine that his first horror film, À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma (At Midnight I Will Take Your Soul, 1964), was made almost 60 years ago, and it’s curious to realize that since then there have been few attempts to create something original like Coffin Joe, a character of Brazilian culture that is not merely an adaptation of monsters or foreign horror stories. Because since then we have had all kinds of creatures, zombies, vampires, hauntings, and demons, but Coffin Joe remains our only “national character,” our contribution to universal genre cinema. And then you have several filmmakers who have ventured into the genre occasionally, but who can't be considered "horror filmmakers." One that I like a lot, and which unfortunately is unknown in Brazil itself, let alone outside the country, is a guy named Jean Garrett, who made fantastic, beautiful films in the 1970s and 1980s emulating elements of European thrillers. His camera work is amazing, but it's a more “artsy” kind of horror, so it's not for all audiences. Speaking on the new generation, I think the most important name, and a name who needs to be more valued and studied, is Petter Baiestorf. During the 1990s, when no one was making horror films in Brazil, he wrote, produced, and directed several shorts and features filmed on VHS in a small town in the south of the country. Films about psychopaths, aliens, zombies, and cannibals, but always with a lot of sense of humor and a lot of blood. Although he remains an “underground artist,” whose films remain unknown to a wider audience, Baiestorf was an inspiration to many filmmakers of this new generation. Especially because of his do-it-yourself style. I started to make my own films inspired by Petter Baiestorf. And much more respected Brazilian filmmakers, like Kleber Mendonça Filho and Dennison Ramalho, also watched his films.
Nervousmaker - Who are some other current horror / genre filmmakers from Brazil we should keep an eye on?
Felipe M. Guerra - It depends on how you like your horror movie. If you prefer more serious and introspective creepy tales, in which the elements of horror are used more economically, I recommend following the work of Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas, both in partnership and by themselves. I think that of the current big names in Brazilian genre cinema, few are making movies like them, which are worth as much for their drama and horror elements. Especially As Boas Maneiras (Good Manners, 2017), an incredible film about a child-werewolf who manages to escape all the traps of this kind of story, and is radically different from the hundreds of werewolf films ever made. The movies they made on their own also escape the clichés and are absolutely original: Marco directed Quando Eu Era Vivo (When I Was Alive, 2014), a slowburn story of ghosts and curses that has a Hereditary feel, and Juliana directed Sinfonia da Necrópole (Necropolis Symphony, 2014), a musical comedy about a guy who works in one of the biggest cemeteries in São Paulo and starts to be haunted by ghosts – a funny movie that resembles Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners. Speaking of independents, I am currently fascinated by the work of a young filmmaker named Matheus Marchetti, who has not yet had the deserved repercussion. He is a big fan of the cinema of Jean Rollin and Jess Franco, and his films are works of art, with a stylized look and incredible use of the soundtrack. He just released his first feature, As Núpcias de Drácula (Dracula's Nuptials, 2018), a queer version of Bram Stoker's book, which I found amazing: he manages to get around the lack of money and resources in a very skillful way, and the result is a absolutely beautiful film. Marchetti is filming a new feature right now called Verão Fantasma, which I'm already dying to see. He's an artist in whom I would invest money if I had any. I also recommend keeping an eye on what Kapel Furman is doing. He is one of the main special effects technicians in the country, a Brazilian Tom Savini, and he has worked on almost every horror film released in Brazil since the late 1990s – he was even responsible for the repulsive effects of my short film The Augusta Street Ripper (2014). Kapel is making feature films targeting the international market, unashamed to embrace the genre's clichés in a country dominated by horror films disguised as dramas. His latest feature, Skull – The Mask (2020), co-directed with Armando Fonseca, is an extremely bloody slasher film that takes place in the heart of São Paulo, looking like a Brazilian version of Jason Takes Manhattan. And the villain is a must-see: a huge guy with a gigantic machete and a mask that is alive and gives him super strength, like a mix of Jason, Spawn, and The Thing! I think the character has a lot of potential and can have his own franchise. And it's an attempt to take a formula that is already well known and adapt it to Brazilian cinema, because the bloody mask has elements of South American mythology. Anyway, I am very curious to see what Kapel will do next.
