Well, here we are, the year is coming to a close and the greatest gift of all is about to be unwrapped down in CDMX. Mi familia de Morbido held back their annual festival to try and catch a lull between waves of the pandemic. The hope in doing so was to be able to have a hybrid edition of the festival with physical, drive-in and virtual screenings.
So far everything is going according to plan and the festival will kick off next Thursday.
Physical screenings will happen at the good old Cinépolis Diana, one of the last stand-alone multiplexes left in CDMX, and the drive-in cinema, Autocinema Coyote. Virtual screenings will be hosted on the app Cinépolis Klic.
So what has Morbido wrangled together for this year's edition? They will have three world premieres at the festival. Lex Ortega has a new film called Animales humanos (Human animals). There is Expira (It Expires) from Leopoldo Laborde. And Adrián García Bogliano has a new film called Juega conmigo (Play with me).
Jealous.
Morbido is also celebrating the 30th anniversary of Joe Dante's Gremlins 2: The New Batch - anyone care to wager that the Gremlin costumes from Morbido Puebla will be dusted off and make an appearance? Spanish maverick Alex de la Iglesia will present El día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast) as well. So that's some awesome rep screenings.
And as the festival moved so close to the holiday season they have also included a lineup of some Christmas classics. The aformentioned Gremlins 2 and Day of the Beast will joined by Black Christmas and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Other films that have been touring the circuit, as are able and making an appearance at Morbido will be Relic, Frank & Zed and History of the Occult. It might be a smaller program than we are used to but there are still many goodies in it. In whatever capacity the festival operates those lucky enough to get the limited amount of tickets should not be disappointed. Vamos!
Mórbido Film Fest will be held from December 10 to 13 in Mexico CityIt will feature 3 world premieres of Mexican films: Human Animals, Play With Me and Expira.Celebrating 30 Years of Joe Dante's GremlinsCDMX, December 2020. This year Mórbido Film Fest celebrates its thirteenth edition from December 10 to 13 in a hybrid model, that is, it will have face-to-face functions, as well as streaming, which will allow people from the interior of the country to enjoy this year of the festival."This year's Christmas edition of Mórbido is loaded with cinematographic gifts for all lovers of good genre cinema, crazy animations, documentaries, films that have been in major festivals such as Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Rotterdam, classic Christmas films, three world premieres of Mexican cinema and two great guests, Joe Dante and Alex De la Iglesia", comments the director of the Mórbido Film Fest Pablo Guisa Koestinger.Within the Latin American Official Selection there will be 3 world premieres of Mexican films: Animales humanos (Human animals) by director Lex Ortega with performances by Adriana Louvier, Antonio de la Vega, Nestor Rodolfo, Aroa Gimeno and Camila Nuñez; Expira (It Expires) from the director Leopoldo Laborde with the performances of Mario Zaragoza, Gabriela Carrillo and Enrique Arrizón and finally Juega conmigo (Play with me) by Adrián García Bogliano with the performances of Liz Dieppa, Emilio Beltrán Ulrich Valery Sais and Erick Israel Consuelo.Joe Dante will give a message regarding the 30 years of Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Alex de la Iglesia will present El día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast).Morbid Film Fest, thanks the Austrian Embassy through the Austrian Cultural Forum for their support for the screening of the feature film "The Trouble with Being Born" directed by Sandra WollnerThe Mórbido Film Fest venues for this year are Cinépolis Diana, Cinépolis Klic® and Autocinema Coyote. Next, we list the information of all the films of our 2020 programming and where they will be shown.Latin American SectionAnimales humanos (Human animals) / Lex Ortega / Mexico / 2021El cementerio de las almas perdidas (The Cemetery of Lost Souls) / Rodrigo Aragão / Brazil / 2020Expira (It Expires) / Leopoldo Laborde / Mexico / 2021Historia de lo oculto (History of the Occult) / Cristian Ponce / Argentina / 2020Juega conmigo (Play with me) / Adrián García Bogliano / Mexico / 2020Sanctorum / Joshua Gil / Mexico / 2019Sin origen (Origin Unknown) / Rigo Castañeda / Mexico / 2020Pandemic ChristmasGremlins 2: The New Batch / Joe Dante / USA / 1990The Nightmare before Christmas / Henry Selick / USA / 1993The Day of the Beast / Alex de la Iglesia / Spain / 1995Black Christmas / Bob Clark / USA / 1974Global SelectionThe Trouble with Being Born / Sandra Wollner / Austria / 2020Relic / Natalie Erika James / Australia / 2020I Blame Society / Gillian Wallace Horvat / USA / 2020Frank & Zed / Jesse Blanchard / USA / 2020El secreto del Dr. Grinberg (The Secret of Dr. Grinberg) / Ida Cuellar / Spain / 2020FEATURE FILMS BY LOCATION, 2020 SELECTIONCINÉPOLIS DIANA:Expira (It expires), Leopoldo Laborde (Mexico, 2021)A series of murders within the world of university theater force Jéssica to investigate clues: her mother died in exactly the same circumstances 15 years ago, but the murderer suddenly stopped and was never caught. And today that the blood is running again, Jessica, determined, is going to hunt him down.Sanctorum, Joshua Gil (Mexico, 2019)In Mexico, a small town is beset by the war between the army and the drug trade. A child has lost his mother, and his grandmother has told him that the only way for him to return alive is by asking the forces of nature for a miracle. That night the boy throws himself into the forest to plead for his mother, while the village prepares to fight the final battle between fear or freedom against an approaching army.Sin origen (Origin Unknown), Rigoberto Castañeda (Mexico, 2020)Pedro de Toro and his family are secluded in a state-of-the-art house/bunker. Pedro wants to get out of the drug cartel that he has helped with his financial knowledge, and this is the night he has planned for everything to end. Lina, a sickly 10-year-old girl, arrives surprisingly at the safe house, at the same time as a group of professional assassins who combine high technology with medieval weapons. It seems that the De Toro family will be massacred by the cartel, until they discover the killers' goal: to kill the innocent ten-year-old girl ... How innocent is this girl really?Juega conmigo (Play with me), Adrián García Bogliano (Mexico, 2020)Sofía, an insecure young woman, begins to work in a house taking care of two problematic brothers, who will make her stay extremely difficult. However, during a night when the parents are absent, the children will be harassed by a demonic entity and Sofia will have to take part in a terrifying game to try to save them.Animales humanos (Human animals), Lex Ortega (Mexico, 2021)A married couple and their young daughter are terrified of the neighbors' dog, which ends up biting the girl. The dog is sacrificed to the desolation of its owners who saw it as their son. They enter the married couple's house at night to take revenge. What they want is justice: sacrifice the girl.The Trouble with Being Born, Sandra WollnerElli is an android who lives with a man she calls dad, spending the summer. During the day they swim in the pool, while at night he tucks her in and wishes her sweet dreams. She shares his memories and everything he programs in her, memories that are everything to him, but mean nothing to her. However, one night Elli will wander into the forest following a distant echo. The story of a machine and the ghosts that we all have inside.Relic, Natalie Erika James (Australia, 2020)Following Edna's mysterious disappearance, Kay and her daughter Sam travel to their grandmother's country house to begin their search. Upon arrival, they find signs of Edna's mental instability, and the more time they spend in the house, a series of supernatural events will lead them to explore the darkest terror that lives in their minds.I Blame Society, Gillian Wallace Horvat (USA, 2020)A passionate and intense filmmaker realizes that her colleagues are losing belief in her ability to be successful, so she decides to allay their doubts by finishing her unfinished film and perpetrating the perfect murder. A provocative meta experience in a gory black comedy tone. A love letter poisoned by the passion for making films that pushes us to question the border between unleashed creativity and madness.Historia de lo oculto (History of the Occult), Cristian Ponce (Argentina, 2020)It is the latest broadcast of "60 Minutes Before Midnight", the most watched journalistic program on television. The star of the night is Adrián Marcato, who could expose a conspiracy and link the government to a coven. At the same time, a group of journalists will race against the clock to locate an article that would allow Marcato's confession to air. They will use their craft, but also much less common methods.El cementerio de las almas perdidas (The Cemetery of Lost Souls) , Rodrigo Aragão (Brazil, 2020)Corrupted by the power of Cipriano's black book, a Jesuit and his followers begin a reign of terror in colonial Brazil, until they are cursed to live eternally imprisoned under the graves of a cemetery. Now, centuries later, they are ready to unleash and spread their evil over the world.El secreto del Dr. Grinberg (The Secret of Dr. Grinberg), Ida Cuellar (Spain, 2020)The mysterious disappearance of Dr. Grinberg, an innovative scientist in telepathy and neurophysiology, has become one of the most enigmatic stories in recent Mexican history. This documentary tells the impossible story of his search. A metaphysical thriller woven from discoveries after nine years of travel and arduous research.Frank & Zed, Jesse Blanchard (USA, 2020)Meet Frank & Zed, two peaceful and isolated monsters who see their existence threatened when a group of desperate villagers decide to fulfill a thousand-year-old pact with a wretched demon. Prepare your senses for a hilarious and bloody audiovisual experience, lovingly performed entirely with puppets.AUTOCINEMA COYOTE:The Day of the Beast, Alex de la Iglesia (Spain, 1995)A priest believes he has deciphered the secret message of the Apocalypse according to Saint John: the Antichrist will be born on December 25, 1995 in Madrid. To prevent the birth of Satan's son, the priest teams up with José María, a young death metal fan. They both try to find out where in Madrid the apocalyptic event will take place. With the help of Professor Cavan, host of an esoteric and supernatural television program, the priest and José Mari invoke the devil in a strange ceremony.Black Christmas, Bob Clark (USA, 1974)Christmas, the perfect time to stay at home and enjoy the night with friends and family, whether it be enjoying a delicious dinner, singing happily or, why not, even having the occasional intoxicating drink while a psychopath watches us from inside a room without us noticing it. An ideal film to experiment with the family on December dates.Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Joe Dante (USA, 1990)After the death of his caretaker, Mogwai is taken to a laboratory where he meets his former owner. Due to a mistake, Mogwai gets wet, multiplying into fearsome Gremlins that will take over the most modern skyscraper in New York.The Nightmare before Christmas, Henry Selick (USA, 1993)When Jack Skellington, the Lord of Halloween, discovers Christmas, he is fascinated and decides to improve it. However, his view of the holiday is totally contrary to the Christmas spirit. His plans include kidnapping Santa Claus and introducing some pretty ghoulish changes. Only his girlfriend Sally is aware of the mistake he is making.