El Gigante Puts Both the Lucha and the Gore into LuchaGore

With the right balance of horror and heartbreak, mostly horror or course, LuchaGore Productions latest film El Gigante (based on Muerte con Carne by Shane McKenzie) shows that they are a force to be reckoned with in the world of indie horror.



Now I always love a good cannibal film, but El Gigante (played by David Forts) and his demented familia bring a whole new meaning to the phrase "playing with your food". Family really is at the centre of this film, both for the victim (played by Edwin Perez) and villains, making you feel for the doomed hero all the more. There is even a twist near the end that made my jaw drop the first time I saw it. Rounding out the rest of Gigante's family is Adelita Rockhill as Mama the morbid matriarch, Mathias Retamal (in his most disturbing role yet) as Cristobal the incestuous  brother of Alma played to an equally disturbing level by Nisreen Slim, Indiana Dean as Rogelio, the youngest in the family for now and finally Chango the monstrous monkey man brought to life by Devvyn Dalton's on screen presence and the voice talents of Jesse Inocalla.

El Gigante and his demented familia.

Set near the border between Mexico and the US, you would never guess that it was actually filmed in Canada with spectacular desert scenes and an interior that screams "death happens here". You can tell that the entire behind the scenes team put their sweat, blood and tears into this project as it exudes professionalism. Now as everyone knows I am a big practical FX geek, so what really made this film for me was all the realistic gore & hideous make-up which was designed by Carolyn Williams and brought to life by herself, Andrea Dulmage and Hannah Chornoby. I was filled with glee every time blood gushed on the screen. But of course you need great costumes to go with great make-up and costume designer Jesse Churchill was able to fulfill that with everything from a creepy mascot to luchador masks that looked like the family could have made them.

Carolyn Williams applying Mama's make-up.

Another impressive element LuchaGore added with this film was the stunts, bringing on Matt Reimer as the stunt coordinator and Brady Roberts as the wrestling coordinator. That added a new level of intensity to the film that will hopefully continue into future work. Under the direction of Gigi Saul Guerrero and Luke Bramley a great team was assembled and through that they were able to bring a truly terrifying vision to life. El Gigante will soon be heading to festivals, with the world premiere happening at the Morbido Film Festival in Mexico this November, so if you are in Mexico I highly recommend getting yourself to the festival and letting your eyes feast on El Gigante.

Now to whet your appetite for the next boogeyman to haunt your dreams here is a link to the trailer for El Gigante.

(I was unable to embed the video in the article so be sure to follow the link)