History of the Occult

Last updated
History of the Occult
History of the Occult (2020) poster.jpg
Promotional release poster
Directed byCristian Ponce
Written byCristian Ponce
Produced byPedro Saieg
Starring
  • Germán Baudino
  • Nadia Lozano
  • Agustín Recondo
  • Casper Uncal
  • Iván Esquerré
  • Héctor Ostrofsky
Cinematography
  • Franco Cerana
  • Camilo Giordano
Music byMarcelo Cataldo
Production
company
Tangram Cine
Distributed byFilmSharks
Release date
  • 8 September 2020 (2020-09-08)(MOTELX)
Running time
82 minutes
Country
  • Argentina
LanguageSpanish

History of the Occult (Spanish : Historia de lo Oculto) is a 2020 thriller horror film written and directed by Cristian Ponce in his feature directorial debut. An argentinean production, the film is presented as the final episode of a fictional 1980s Argentine television news program titled 60 Minutes Before Midnight, during which the show's journalists attempt to expose a conspiracy that connects their government to a mysterious corporation that practices black magic. [1]

Contents

History of the Occult premiered at MOTELX (Lisbon International Horror Film Festival) in Portugal on 8 September 2020, [2] and was made available for streaming on Netflix in Spain and Latin America on 15 October 2021. [3]

Production

Filming took place in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. [4]

Release

History of the Occult had its world premiere at MOTELX (Lisbon International Horror Film Festival) in Portugal on 8 September 2020. [2] It later screened at the virtual edition of Spain's Sitges Film Festival in October 2020, [2] as well as the virtual edition of Argentina's Mar del Plata International Film Festival in November 2020. [4]

The film was made available for streaming on Netflix in Spain and Latin America on 15 October 2021. [3] WarnerMedia made the film available for streaming on HBO Max in Central Europe, [3] while in North America the film debuted on Screambox in December 2022. [5]

Reception

Andrew Mack of Screen Anarchy called the film "a thinking person's horror thriller, not one for idle minds. Staying with this cryptic mystery all the way through to its 'effect ending' will be rewarding once you have deciphered it." [6]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryResultRef(s)
2020 Mar del Plata International Film Festival Best Latin American Debut FilmWon [7]

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References

  1. Eddy, Cheryl (15 December 2022). "History of the Occult Investigates a Conspiracy of Doom". Gizmodo . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Moyano, Hernán (1 September 2020). "«Historia de lo oculto» se vera en Sitges 2020 y en MotelX". Cine de Género Latinoamericano (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 de la Fuente, Anna Marie (11 October 2021). "Netflix, HBO Max Swoop on Streaming Rights to 'History of the Occult' (Exclusive)". Variety . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 Requejo, Lucía (17 August 2023). "Historia de lo oculto". Página 12 (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  5. de la Fuente, Anna Marie (1 August 2022). "Cinedigm Lands All North American Rights to 'History of the Occult' (Exclusive)". Variety . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  6. Mack, Andrew (11 September 2020). "MotelX 2020 Review: The History of The Occult, a Race Against The Clock to Unveil an Evil Union". Screen Anarchy . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  7. Gez, Diego (18 October 2021). ""Historia de lo oculto": un thriller que articula terror, brujería, conspiración política y periodismo". Tiempo Argentino (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 March 2024.