Edwin Pagán grew up devouring horror films. As a young boy he remembers watching the classics like Tales From The Crypt to Rosemary’s Baby to Halloween and everything in between. It was a given that “horror” would be in Edwin’s life forever and movies would become a passion. For over twenty years he has worked as director of photography on numerous films, some of which he has also produced. He took the best of both worlds and founded latinhorror.com in 2008, an online niche market website specializing in Latin-influenced horror, its documentation, and promotion as a distinct genre, and life was good.
At the end of 2010 screenwriter turned filmmaker Drew Daywalt, whose Youtube channel Daywalt’s Fear Factory drew millions of horror fans each month, put out a challenge Pagán could not pass up. Daywalt offered filmmakers the opportunity to shoot his script The Talisman free of charge, with only three conditions 1) the dialogue could not be changed; 2) the filmmakers could not make money off the film; and 3) Daywalt would retain the copyright. Pagán relished the opportunity to bring The Talisman to life, and make his directorial debut. In an interview with RueMorgue.com he says:
“I saw the content resulting from the challenge as a calling card, and somehow also becoming connected to that honest utility that Drew generously cultivates as a filmmaker, where he is always sharing advice and providing entry for emerging makers working within the genre.”
Daywalt’s script tells the story of a nomadic drifter who is contracted by a hideous creature to deliver a sacred item – The Talisman – to an abandoned warehouse where he encounters an eternal, evil force that reveals his fateful destiny. Simple, but what Pagán brought to the screen is anything but simple. He described to RueMorgue.com his interpretation of the script.
“One of my personal spins on Daywalt’s streamlined script was to anchor the main premise in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, which has multiple concentric levels of descent into Hell. Which is exactly where I interpreted the main character in the film is headed.”
With the lure of Daywalt’s script and a chance to support Pagán’s vision, friends signed on to make the film. Shooting began in February 2011 when the film industry pretty much slows down, making it easier to get some very accomplished crew and filmmakers to work on his film, which is what Pagán did. He promised “a hearty breakfast plus some really good Spanish food for lunch and dinner!” and he delivered. Pagán also served as the DP and produced, however, this time around he was literally calling the shots as a first time director.
The Talisman was shot in New York in a day and a half, with a small crew, three main actors and a few extras (some of which were also crew). A friend lent Pagán his bar in the Lower East Side for three hours, 9am to noon, when they had to be out because the bar opened to the public at one. The second day was a 12 hour day shoot in a confined studio.
With a final budget of $2K, it was a given the production could not have afforded the excellent work of the crew which included the work of special effects make-up artist Meagan Hester. She worked her magic on day one on Paul Bosche who plays Ciacco The Creature and on Adela Maria Bolet who played the Old “evil force” incarnate Gypsy Woman on day two. Frankie Villanueva’s work as the production designer is priceless, while the Hounds of Hell puppets where done by none other than Carl Paolino whose handiwork can also bee seen in Celebrity Deathmatch. The fine editing job was done by Jasmine Colón, whom Pagán worked with on A Miracle in Spanish Harlem.
In fact Colón was 85% done with the editing of The Talisman when life happened. While Pagán dealt with personal issues, including a short period of homelessness, The Talisman sat in Pagán’s hard drive for two years. It wasn’t until early this year that he began to think about finishing the film, and his timing couldn’t have been better.
Soon after, Pagán got back on track to finishing The Talisman. The film had its US premiere as a work-in-progress at the Hollywood HorrorFest at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. The short film was slated as a stand-alone showcase. Pagán was then contacted by the International Puerto Rican Film Festival who asked him to submit. Friend and fellow filmmaker Carlos Berrios helped finish the sound editing and mixing and they submitted. Then Pagán made the decision to forego the film festival circuit and go straight into online distribution, offering The Talisman for free.
“Looking to honor the original spirit of the challenge, I chose to make the film public and get it directly before the horror-loving film audience and have it seen widely,” Pagán details. “Rather than spending months or years and countless funds and energy chasing festival windows or seeking out programmers.” Pagán choose to make The Talisman available on Youtube and on his own site latinhorror.com. Word of the free streaming was publicized to the over 90,000 LatinHorror.com subscribers, and for worldwide horror film fanatics, he chose to post it on Youtube.
Pagán takes pride in having taken Daywalt’s challenge, and although he was not the only filmmker that did, it was his rendition of The Talisman that got Daywalt’s attention and his offer to help promote it. “Daywalt thought it came out really really well,” said Pagán. “He is finishing up a book tour, and then he will be getting behind the promotion of the film.”
For his part, Pagán says of his directorial debut, “I think the film turned out really well and should prove to be a good example of my skills as a filmmaker. And, as you know, everything leads to something else.”
Based on The Talisman, we anxiously await for what is to come next from director Edwin Pagán.
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