Alex Hernandez‘s Justine
A Bloody Triumph of the Artistic Spirit
“We are all in the same boat.” That seems to be the new catch phrase for filmmakers and others affected by the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This new reality seems to have plagued many, to varying degrees. If we are indeed in the same boat, some see it as a sinking ship and jump overboard, whereas others decide to “keep rowing”, that this “new reality” will not stop them and forge on with projects that are seeing or will soon see the light of day.
One such project is an extreme horror film, Justine. The second feature film from Mexican director, Alejandro “Alex” Hernandez, following his successful debut, the extreme horror Blood For Flesh (Sangre Para La Carne) (Read our review HERE).
Alex decided that nothing is going to stop him from making his most recent vision come to fruition. He has recruited the help of two filmmakers, Domiziano Cristopharo (Producer) and distribution company, TetroVideo, and Itai Guberman (Associate Producer) of MyIndie Productions, to make this project come to life.
Alex and his team have recently completed pre-production and have commenced shooting in Mexico, only to be delayed somewhat by CoronaVirus-related restrictions. Alex continues to work on several aspects of the film and the planning-ahead of the project for the time it picks back up, with completion still scheduled for sometime before the end of this year.
MyIndie had a short chat with Alex about the project in a short interview:
MyIndie: What can you tell us about Justine? What does the project mean to you? Who is involved and when can we expect to see it?
Alex: Justine is a project freely inspired by Justine or the misfortunes of virtue by Marquis de Sade. As in everything I do, I try to offer the viewer a different visual proposal and narrative. I am placing emphasis on the philosophical argument that Marquis de Sade uses in Justine. I dare say that it is not a movie that is set during the time of the Marquis novel. I think that this type of literary work can be adapted to any time and any generation if it is well enough built.
This time I have called a wonderful actress, Dan Zapata, who has worked the horror and gore genre, and a great actor who has already worked with me on a segment for Dark Web XXX, Enrique diaz Duran. The viewer can expect a lot of justified blood, philosophical reflection, and above all, a personal vision of Justine.
MIP: Anything you want to say to fans of your work out there?
AH: I have always been grateful for those who value my storytelling style. Anyone who is a fan of my work, most likely got to see Blood For Flesh last year and enjoyed the nonlinear narrative and experimental language. Justine has a very different language and narrative style. I think I have reached a new maturity to my filmmaking with this film… or maybe not. Lol. Justine will be an invitation to explore different ways of storytelling. It promises to be ruthless, polarizing, selfish, elegant and probably… perverted. It is intended to be a philosophical work, befitting the stature of the source material.
MIP: There is word that a teaser-trailer will be released soon. When can we expect to see it and what should we expect to see?
AH: I don’t have an exact date for the release of the teaser trailer, but I think that many who follow the genre would love seeing the sensuality of the body in contrast to the blood and violence.
MIP: The project is currently “in-production”, does that mean that you are currently shooting? Has the current pandemic situation affected the project and if so, how?
AH: It directly affected the work plan. We have had to stop shooting by orders from the Government. We have also had to cut down technical staff. But we are going to survive this and the film will be completed.
MIP: What kind of distribution are you planning for Justine? How the film will be released and where?
AH: Justine will be an exclusive release from Tetrovideo (in a DVD HARDBOX edition release) worldwide distribution. But first I hope to get lucky with Justine at some horror film festivals.
So, if life gives you lemons, go and make a Marquis de Sade-inspired extreme horror film. There might be a lesson in that for all of us. For now, Alex plans on getting back to shooting the film as soon as the restrictions in his area are lifted and still promises that we will see Justine completed before the end of the year. Stay tuned for the trailer which should be coming soon and get ready for something extremely dark and very special. Stay tuned!
