Movies You Made: “Evil Mexican Child”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of independent filmmakers. Today: Evil Mexican Child. Some background on the project from writer-director Michael Noonan:

I’ve done a few of your Screenwriting Master Classes and they’ve been great, as has GITS. A truly wonderful resource. I’ve made lots of shorts and some documentaries and I’ve written about 12 features, 10 of which have been truly terrible.

I finally got my act together last year after a class with Tom, and later with you — refining a script I couldn’t crack. I got it to work for the most part and it made the Top 50 of last year’s Nicholl. So, I’m on the improve.

Now, to my Movies You Made submission:

I wrote, directed and edited the following short film late last year in Mexico. It’s called “Evil Mexican Child”.

Logline: In the middle of the Mexican desert, an unsuspecting couple encounter a strange, abandoned child with terrifying powers.

We filmed it over 2 days in a mountain range called Huasteca (in Monterrey, Mexico) with an all-Mexican crew of about 10.

They say a movie is written three times: on the page, on the shoot, and in the edit suite. I fully believe that — so I try to direct and edit everything I write. The process from start to end is so rewarding. A real creative journey.

Cast and Crew

Written and Directed by Michael Noonan
Produced by Ricky Mansilla
Co-Produced by Raul Raygoza
Cinematography: Juansa Avalos
Production Design: Carlos Alberto Ramos
Wardrobe and Make-up: Michelle Andonie
Music and sound design: Davin Patterson
Sound recordist: Gerardo Villareal

Starring: Xochitl Hernàndez, Nyno Bernal, Anahi Davila and introducing Max De La Rosa as “El Niñito”

First Assistant Director: Ricky Mansilla
Camera Operator: Juansa Avalos
Camera Assistants: Ivàn Garcia, Itzel Perales, Oscar González, Pablo Garcia Saldaña
Gaffers: Alonso de Leòn, Manuel Llanos
Production Design Assistants: Sussie Ramirez, Jaqueline Lozano
Niñito Wranglers: Ricky Mansilla, Raul Raygoza
Still Photography: Raul Raygoza
Special Thanks: R cuadrada, University of Monterrey, A.J. Gómez, Yajaira Orzua Calvo, Linton Vivian, Rebecca Wolgast, Mario Hernández, Rancho San Isidro, La Galleta Salada

Here is the 7-minute thriller Evil Mexican Child:

I asked each of the filmmakers in this month’s series to answer this question: What inspired you about this particular story to make it a movie? Here is Michael’s response:

Stories about the bonds between fathers and sons have always fascinated me and most of my feature scripts have a father-son relationship at their core. My mother died in 2005 and, until a few years ago, I realized there aren’t nearly as many stories about mother-son relationships as there are about fathers and sons, or even fathers and daughters. Sure, there’s Norman Bates (and a few other serial killers) — but, in broad terms, it’s not a relationship that’s portrayed very frequently or with much complexity on screen.

So I set out to make a film about that. I love “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (Written by Lynne Ramsay) — a stunning movie about a mother and her seriously-troubled son — and I wanted to venture into similar territory with “Evil Mexican Child”. On the surface, it’s a darkly comic horror story but I like to think there’s a much deeper story there about a mother and a son, and what it takes for them to find some common ground and bond… even if that might mean something awful for the people around them.

Twitter: @DrMichaelNoonan.

Website: Michael Noonan Films.

Tomorrow: Another Movie You Made.

If you have been involved in the creation of a film and want to participate, please email me with details. Note: Need an embeddable trailer or movie.