Cuba's first-ever zombie/horror film, "Juan of the Dead"

What do Cuban zombies want? SESOOOOOOOOOOOOS.

Man, "Juan of the Dead" sure looks awesome. First horror movie AND first zombie movie ever out of Cuba. Video Link for trailer, and here's an article about the making of. Aaron Stewart-Ahn, whose tweets tipped me, says the feature was made with smuggled-in latex for zombie FX scenes.

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

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Anonymous

The director is Cuban. The production company is Cuban. And it was shot in Cuba. Almost nothing was smuggled. As far as I know. And I shot it. I should know.
kawayama

awesome.
VICTOR JIMENEZ

“-Este no es un disidente…”
“-Â¿Vampiros?”

Maybe a reference to the classic “Vampiros en la Habana”?

Looks hilarious my bets are in it.

“-Â¡Esos no son americanos, viejo!”
- Anonymous
  
  I was just thinking the same.
  By the way, both are Spanish and Cuban coproducction. :D
Jack Daniel

They had me with that shot of the mutant ’57 Chevy tearing through the swarm. Hasta La Victoria, Muerte!
The Hamster King

I can’t stop smiling.
tincansongbird

This one looks like a winner. Hopefully, somebody can get it into the US.

I hate to get all political in a post like this, but media like Juan de los Muertos is important to Americans, whether they know it or not. It shows us that Cubans are not crazed, humorless commies or terrified victims of some comic book villain. They’re quite a bit like us, really. Knowing and accepting that can help get the embargo lifted. As long as the neighbors remain mysterious and dehumanized, it’s too easy for our leadership to justify their McCarthyist “punishment” of them.
- Anonymous
  
  Just to be clear this isn’t really a Cuban movie — it’s a Spanish director/crew that went to Cuba as tourists and smuggled in some effects gear and a Red camera and shot parts of the movie there, and then went back home and finished and produced it.
  
  It would be more honest to say that it’s a Spanish zombie/horror comedy *SET* in Cuba and using elements of Cuban culture and history as story elements.
  
  Still looks awesome though.
falnfenix

hee, i hope it makes its way to the US.
IronEdithKidd

I soooo want to see this film. I fucking love a zombie comedy flick.

Even more than showing Americans that Cubans really are humans, this movie shows us that Cuba isn’t as isolated from the rest of the planet as our fabulous political class would prefer us to believe.
- jupiterkansas
  
  Movies and books and art tell us things about foreign countries our governments would rather us not know — that the people “over there” are just as human as we are. It makes things like war and the exploitation of another country’s resources that much more difficult.
  
  It’s said that culture and science know no borders. It’s awesome that the internet is so easily able to cross borders as well.
Elijah

*laughing* Oh, that kicks nine kinds of ass. Maybe even ten. I’d pay good money to see this. Big up to all involved.
Anonymous

totally not the first horror film out of havana. saw Â¡Vampiros en La Habana! on netflix the other day. from 1985