THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH | ON THE HORRIZON

ON THE HORRIZON: 'THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH'

Rodrigo Gudiño prods the psyche with ghost/religious horror

An antiques collector inherits a house from his estranged mother only to discover that she had been living in a shrine devoted to a mysterious cult of angels.

Rodrigo Gudino LATIN HORROR spoke with filmmaker and Rue Morgue impresario Rodrigo Gudiño over the weekend as he prepares to go into production on his first feature film, THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH. The production, which will shoot for approx 20 days, officially begins principal photography on Oct 10th. The film will shoot in practical locations in Toronto in what helmer Gudiño describes as some of the "city's most unusual homes and best kept secrets."

Gudiño will team up once again with cinematographer Derek Rogers (Cube, Resident Evil: Apocalypse) who shot his 2007 short, The Demonology of Desire. Special FX work will be handled by David Scott (300, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer). That department's visual effects will be overseen by Anthony Scott Burns, who has come on as Visual Effects Supervisor (check out his Tron: Destiny fan film). It was also revealed that indie film favorite Aaron Poole (Small Town Murder Songs, Gangster Exchange) will don the shoes of Leon Leigh, the film's protagonist. Said Poole: “Rodrigo’s script is terrifying, stylish, and ultimately surprisingly moving."

According to Gudiño, Rosalind Leigh will feature a strikingly original narrative technique that glimpses into the psychology of spirits. "The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh will be about theater of the mind and be akin to a psych ghost story," he says. "The film is not about the devil. It is about a spirit that may or may not be benign. With this project we plan to color outside the lines, and make a movie that gets under people's skin a little bit."

Rodrigo Gudiño's award-winning films are not new to LATIN HORROR subscribers. In 2009 his work was featured during the inaugural edition of our Director's SINema Spotlight profile series where three of his short films were showcased. The shorts were extremely well received. As a long-time supporter of our site, Gundiño also joined us last year on a panel that looked at The Business of Horror.

Initially, Gudiño was set to take the reigns of the more ambitious and bigger budget re-imagining of the 1972 Cut Throats Nine that would bring together Mads Mikkelsen, Harvey Keitel, and Roy Dupuis as part of the cast. But due to scheduling contraints - and to keep tuning his craft - he opted to insert Rosaline Leigh into the timeline instead, which was fast-tracked by E1 Entertainment and is scheduled to be released in 2012.

All of Gudiño's prior films, The Eyes of Edward James (2006), The Demonology of Desire (2007), and The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow (2008), show a light hand with a unique and focused point of view that doesn't get in the way of the story development. This mature sensibiltiy and his distinct visual aesthetic should prove a furtile landscape for his very subtle yet striking form of storytelling. One we're certain will help keep us up at night as we contemplate the demons lurking just beyond our bed sheets.

Gundiño founded Rue Morgue magazine in 1997 and has grown it into one of the most respected horror publications in the industry. He has also parlayed the brand's success into several media strands that includes the weekly radio program Rue Morgue Radio, the monthly film series Rue Morgue CineMacabre Movie Nights, and Festival of Fear, an annual week-long Toronto-based horror expo. Rosalind Leigh represents Rue Morgue Cinema’s first feature film.

LATIN HORROR will keep you up-to-date on the film's progress and milestones going forward, including exclusive behind-the-scenes images, clips, and interviews.

TRIVIA:

Rodrigo Gudiño was born and raised in Tijuana, México before moving to Toronto.

The short script around which Rosalind Leigh is based was written by Gudiño in 2005.

On the occasion of Rue Morgue magazine's 100th issue (it's BLACK 100) on May 2010, LATIN HORROR hosted an all-black home page for a week in solidarity with the milestone.

Become friends with The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh at

Edwin Pagán, LH

9/13/2011