Back in 2007 director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego didn't just join the wave of Spanish genre talent, he moved right up to the forefront of it. His third feature film, El Rey de la Montana or King of the Hill, was his first to receive a significant international push and film fans around the world took notice. One of my very favorite films of that year, King of the Hill was a nasty, tightly executed, character based thriller, one that marked Lopez-Gallego as a very significant talent.
And then, as is so often then case, Hollywood came knocking and the director started fielding offers - some of which are quite good, I should add - and, thanks to the very long development and production cycle Hollywood favors, he dropped out of the public eye for a while. But now he's back with La Piel Azul.
A limited location thriller revolving around a group of friends going for a sailing vacation, La Piel Azul was originally shot as a two part miniseries for Mexican television. That initial airing happened last month and now Lopez-Gallego is hard at work in the editing room, remolding and reshaping the piece into a feature film to send out into the broader world. How's it look? Dead Calm is going to be an obvious touch point for many, but take a look at the extended TV promo below to judge for yourself.
And then, as is so often then case, Hollywood came knocking and the director started fielding offers - some of which are quite good, I should add - and, thanks to the very long development and production cycle Hollywood favors, he dropped out of the public eye for a while. But now he's back with La Piel Azul.
A limited location thriller revolving around a group of friends going for a sailing vacation, La Piel Azul was originally shot as a two part miniseries for Mexican television. That initial airing happened last month and now Lopez-Gallego is hard at work in the editing room, remolding and reshaping the piece into a feature film to send out into the broader world. How's it look? Dead Calm is going to be an obvious touch point for many, but take a look at the extended TV promo below to judge for yourself.