Km 31 is good attempt at reviving and old dormant genre within the Mexican film-making history. We have to credit young writer-director Rigoberto Castañeda for his loose approach at horror film-making. I bet he knew all along big criticism was widely waiting for him at the end of this endeavor, and of course, as a result of it the opinions came out truly divided. Some people said he kind of mixed up all his previous horror-thriller influences cramming them together into this very particular Mexican-styled outfit. I believe --like many any other movies- Km 31 is a portrait of his own creator letting us know what he had seen before, who he was influenced by and also, what we can expect from him in the near future.
What I see in Km 3 is an interesting new beginning for Mexican horror movies (Spain also had a strong collaboration) and I perceive Castañeda as a young promise for this almost forgotten genre within Mexican film-making. Of course, like some other horror flicks Km 31 has its lows regarding technical aspects, but we ought to side with Castañeda and understand this movie was made with a very low budget and not much previous experience. The thing here is not about being patriotic and forgiving, only because we are supposedly obliged by a moral concern to support any movie made by the new generation of Mexican directors such as Castañeda. There are many other factors at play to consider, like the surprising incorporation of high-end special effects: We have to admit that particular area of production was truly shy in the recent past of many other local Mexican productions and Km 31 is letting us know the doors are open for better stuff and more interesting flicks.
Today Castañeda is not only dealing with simple end-product criticism for his Km 31. He is also dealing with the shadows of some past Mexican horror films, and being a sort of new pioneer for the genre, he unavoidably faces the uncomfortable comparisons with the closet skeletons being pulled out for show. That --of course- is completely unfair.
Everyone has the right express his own saying, but the truth is Castañeda is already hooked up in to another production were he is directing but not doing the screenplay and that may change things around for him. Siding up with this team and perhaps a better budget, he might end up following the same luck as Director Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Desperado, Once upon a time in Mexico) who started out low but went higher thanks to the people who believed in him. Good luck to them!
What I see in Km 3 is an interesting new beginning for Mexican horror movies (Spain also had a strong collaboration) and I perceive Castañeda as a young promise for this almost forgotten genre within Mexican film-making. Of course, like some other horror flicks Km 31 has its lows regarding technical aspects, but we ought to side with Castañeda and understand this movie was made with a very low budget and not much previous experience. The thing here is not about being patriotic and forgiving, only because we are supposedly obliged by a moral concern to support any movie made by the new generation of Mexican directors such as Castañeda. There are many other factors at play to consider, like the surprising incorporation of high-end special effects: We have to admit that particular area of production was truly shy in the recent past of many other local Mexican productions and Km 31 is letting us know the doors are open for better stuff and more interesting flicks.
Today Castañeda is not only dealing with simple end-product criticism for his Km 31. He is also dealing with the shadows of some past Mexican horror films, and being a sort of new pioneer for the genre, he unavoidably faces the uncomfortable comparisons with the closet skeletons being pulled out for show. That --of course- is completely unfair.
Everyone has the right express his own saying, but the truth is Castañeda is already hooked up in to another production were he is directing but not doing the screenplay and that may change things around for him. Siding up with this team and perhaps a better budget, he might end up following the same luck as Director Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Desperado, Once upon a time in Mexico) who started out low but went higher thanks to the people who believed in him. Good luck to them!