Exclusiva: Fernando Barreda Luna Offers Halloween Scares With ‘Atrocious’

By Michael Lopez

Yes, we know Halloween on a Monday can be a bit of a drag. But even if work and school obligations keep you from partying your heart out tonight, you can still enjoy a scare at home with the newly released DVD, Atrocious. Written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Fernando Barreda Luna, it's reality-based horror puts Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch to shame. Fernando spoke to us exclusively about what went into his monstrous masterpiece.

"This is my first movie," Barreda Luna told us. "And I'm really enjoying the reactions I’ve been receiving. It seems to have already built quite a following both in the U.S. and overseas."

Shot entirely in Spanish, Atrocious follows the lives of a brother and sister who delve into a creepy local legend. Could a missing girl from the 1940's really be haunting the woods outside their parents' summer home? The two adventurous teens are determined to find out and bring their home video camera to document their explorations.

We think you can imagine what happens next. In the tradition of all those "found footage" horror movies, the audience sees the siblings' tapes after their vicious slaughter. Was the ghost in the woods behind it? Fernando's unique shooting style will keep you guessing until the very end.

"I had a lot of inspiration from other movies when making Atrocious, particularly in the suspense genre," he said. "If you don’t see the monster, it can be a much scarier experience. I wanted to keep that idea of not knowing the monster. Our imagination can be much more scary than what’s showing on the screen."

Barreda Luna also confessed that budgetary limitations prevented him from creating intricate CGI ghouls. But, he felt that worked to his advantage and ultimately challenged him to create a better film.

"The original idea was for a much more straightforward movie," he said. "But because of budget limits, we decided to make a much smaller film. We adapted it to this 'found footage' style and it worked. Paranormal Activity kind of follows the same mold. There's a lot of suspense and a lot of drama, but it wasn't expensive to do."

Having seen the film, we can definitely vouch for Fernando's fright tactics. A lifelong scary movie fan, he's picked up some great techniques from the cinema's best horror directors. And seeing how it's Halloween, we had to ask what his favorite films from the genre are.

"I have like 40 favorite horror movies," he jokingly said. "Rob Zombie's stuff is great. But I also really love the classics, like the original Alien, John Carpenter's The Thing, and Poltergeist."

You can find out more of Barreda Luna's horror inspirations (and even download the movie) by visiting the official Atrocious website.

What's your favorite scary movie? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Atrocious, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Exclusive Entrevistas, Fernando Berreda Luna, Halloween, Horror Movies, Movies & CineMás, Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, Tr3s Exclusives