"El Cucuy" a film by Amy Beth O'Brien

So the monster was a shadow? And in the end it just fooled her to play with her and took her away it seems. The little girl was pretty good. I feel you could have showed more to the story. It was a little dragged from doing the day, night, day, night. Also some little continuity I like to look for in films at the first night when she is reading the book before her mom tells her goodnight the flashlight is under her pillow then next cut the flashlight is not under the pillow and on the other side of the bed.

Still it seemed like a fun little film to make.
 
I think I enjoyed this best of the films of yours I've seen. Kept me sucked in the most, and just was strong throughout. Your little girl was precious and believable.

I was confused by the set up of the room. Normally this sort of thing doesn't bother me, but since we don't see the mother, I was spatially confused. Watching it again I was able to piece the room together a little better, but I think that seeing the physical door the mom opens would have helped me. Also was a little confused as to where the mom was, because sometimes she talks from offscreen when she hasn't opened the door. Is her room just behind the door?

I read that you are going to fix the last special effects shot, but since I don't know exactly your intentions, I'll go ahead and say what my initial thought was. I think it would make more sense if instead of the fire, the beautiful landscape just faded into a gloomy apocalyptic landscape.

I felt the movie could have been a lot scarier with the score and special effects hitting the scary moments. I liked the music, but it didn't seem tailored to the movie. The thunderclap and lightning on the shadow moment worked well, and I wanted more of that sort of sound work. It doesn't all have to be diegetic.

I enjoyed it, good work!
 
Amy we loved the little girls acting BUT.......where was the monster I never saw the monster.
well shot good sound just left me wanting more you know.
overall good film.thank you for your hard work and effort
 
Thanks everyone. Glad people are enjoying it.

Ramsaur - It was a shadow OF the monster, not a shadow monster. And he lured her in with promises of a fantasy world that turned out to be not so fantastic. And the cut your refer to is not a continuity error, but rather a jump cut. There is a whole sequence I edited out of her taking the flashlight and crawling to the end of the bed to get the book, but it she was way to slow about it, so out it went.

Jason - Your thoughts on the ending are spot on. The sunny meadow was supposed to turn into a dark twisted forrest, and the Cucuy makes his long awaited appearance behind her just before the door closes. I got to 9am on the 30th and realized I had to go with a quick Plan B or all of the work everyone had done for the film wouldn't be seen.
 
Nice job by Cheyenne.

I thought the shots were good, sound was good, music was good, acting was good. Story was simple, but overall this actually was pretty solid on most levels. I think it could have been a bit shorter but I was fine with it there as well. Nice job. Simple, Clean, well executed.
 
I am a sucker for the simple tension gag of closet door and someone walking up to it. The repeated action help, at least for me, build that tension. I kept expecting to maybe seeing a glimpse of hunched back dude with a red ear. The girl did a really solid job. I think it could have been a touch shorter, but that's not a real big point for me. Being lured in is a fun concept and maybe a few more notes earlier on, or something could have helped extend that a bit. The sound mix on the mother's voice didn't seem right - too immediate and didn't sound like it was coming from another room. Also, the idyllic setting turning to fire didn't scare me. Perhaps because it occured relatively slowly. Maybe if it had just been a tiny glimpse right before the door shut? Not sure, but that might have helped it be a little more freaky.

Well done short and I hope we can all get together at the Hollywood.
 
Thanks for your comments, guys.

Devon - Mom's voice (mine) was ADR'd with less than 8 hours to deadline, so I only had a couple of passes to play with reverb and spacial placement. That and the VFX will be improved for its "Hollywood" premeire. :)
 
Nice little film. Always a sucker for films that tell a story in a small space or just a couple of small locations. I thought the young lady did very well, given the different emotions she needed to portray. Some nice editing in the whole "what's in the closet" sequence, really built up the tension. I can definitely see the growth of the filmmaker here from previous entries in the technical aspects.

Story needed a little work and that carried into some of the film a bit. Firstly, the film introduces the monster as one who nabs children who don't listen to their parents. I fully expected to see a pretty bratty child. Why El Cucuy would grab this little cutie who really didn't do much to incur this monster's wrath puzzled me.

I also think now you need to start looking at the little details in your films, stuff that helps pull the viewer into the film. For example. the notes that El Cucuy passes under the door I feel would have had a much bigger impact visually if they were written on some old kind of parchment or animal skin or ANYTHING other than something jotted down in pen on a piece of notebook paper. Just little things like that.

Anyway, I enjoyed the film and it's been fun to watch you grow as a filmmaker over the years. Your daughter is really getting so big since the first film I saw her in.

Thanks for sharing!
 
John,

Wow, thanks for taking the time for such detailed insights. I'm glad you enjoyed the film. I agree with all your suggestions, too. I know there's a lot of room to dig in to the details with this, I just couldn't because I automatically hindered myself by doing it alone. I made the decision while putting this together that this is going to be the last project of this nature I do on my own. Seriously. I'll still do family movies, especially now that my older daughter is old enough to participate in the story and production aspects. But, those won't be DVX Fest films (unless Ana wants to make one and enter herself!). I, too, feel I have grown as a filmmaker in the last couple of years, and that means I have to start collaborating more to achieve the quality of filmmaking I know I can accomplish.

Thanks again. :)
 
AmyO said:
...I made the decision while putting this together that this is going to be the last project of this nature I do on my own.
Click to expand...

I tell myself that all the time. :cheesy:

I DID get myself a makeup artist on this last one, so I guess I'm starting to branch out a little. But yeah, I need to do the same.
 
Amy-

I enjoyed your film. Good story idea, the little girl was great, and I think there are some good elements in here.

I agree with others on the "spatial" challenge of the little girl's room. I was confused about the closet door at first. Since the first time we see it is right after the mother has opened an unseen door to say something to the girl I immediately thought the door we saw next was the door to the room.

I liked the the "through the keyhole" shot a lot.

And, like some others, a glimpse of the monster would have been nice and could have helped ratchet the tension even a little more.

Looking forward to meeting you at the Hollywood Theater showing and glad your film will be part of the mix!
 
Hi Amy,

I always know what to expect when I watch an AmyO entry. And while they may not be my cup of tea they are always well done with good performances from the children. This one was no exception. Cheyenne did a very good job. Made me think of my daughter at that age.

I had a couple of problems, though. You set us up for El Cucuy but never gave us the payoff. Instead, we were given a benevolent "monster" who wanted someone to play with. In addition, the beautiful landscape doesn't seem to back up the cautionary tale quality.

At first, I was confused, thinking the closet door was actually the bedroom door.

I did enjoy this for Cheyenne's performance and some quality images. A job well done.
 
Thanks for your comments guys. Yeah, I skipped over a better establishing shot of the room. The door is kind of recessed on the same wall as the closet, so it is hard to see unless you are looking dead on. Will keep this in mind for future films.

Kevin - be prepared for more monster when you next see this!

Blaine - be prepared for your expectations to be blown the next time you see one of my films. I've got a script I'm itching to shoot that is nothing like what I've done before.
 
Good job here, Amy. The little girl was so, so cute. I thought she did a pretty good job. There were a couple of places in the beginning when she was in the room where I couldn't tell what she was doing and where she was looking and where was the door and where the closet was. Probably because we didn't get a wide shot of the entire room, so I couldn't tell where she was in relation to it. There was also a time where the door seems to open and there was light in the room and then it just closed and that was a bit confusing, because nobody said anything and the little girl was looking one way and then another. I finally figured that part out, but I was initially confused.

You had some really good cinematography and I thought your pacing was very good too. The audio was also very good. I think when she first starts messing around with the closet, some more menacing music might help (if scary is what you wanted there), because the shot and suspense were set up great, but the music was telling me that nothing was going to happen. Anyway, I thought your story was a good one and when she tells her mommy (you?) that she wasn't sleepy (in the bathroom), well, that was classic. We all remember those days and those of us that have kids still see it. LOL!

Very good job on your film and I read some earlier posts about you having a crew of basically 1. Well, don't get too frustrated, because we're all in a similar boat. It sucks, but we still always find a way to get films done. That's a big accomplishment in and of itself. Kudos to you! Good job!
 
Hi Amy,

You did a very good job on this one. I felt that this time you made a film with a child in it and not a filmexperiment with children (I also liked all your previous films - this is a compliment!). The story was sweet, but also creepy and Cheyenne is going to be a better and better actress.

Susanne
 
Hey there Amy!

Righto well this is a charming film but not without some inconsistencies that i'll discuss. It is however a welcome addition to the festival for its originality and ensuring this isnt a halloweenrubbermaskpornfest.

Give a mid 20s American man rubber latex and corn syrup and theres just one thing he'll do...

Right! So the prologue info - about this hunched back and large red ear (sounds like a reply to my dating ad!) Okay it was my dating ad.... yes anyway!

So i wasn't entirely sure - if the monster was actually just luring the girl into the cupboard - as the dark orange glow i presumed at first a sinister overtone! Of course it's not - i can't possibly perish to the sounds of relaxing South American pan pipes (unless its on when im attacked in a new age spiritualist shop with amethyst crystal club armed vampire hippie ladies!)

This charming tale features a pleasant performance by sweet Cheyenne (she got treated way better than the poor kid in Bedtime Story!!!) The graphics while simple are pretty and effective, the overall cinematography is functional and at times quite attractive!

The pace of the film can linger a bit - my legs started to wriggle about half way through (normally this only happens during the kissing scenes in Spartacus) - otherwise a competent and professional enough, sweet entry.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I really appreciate it. The best part about this fest is getting such varied (and worldly!) feedback. I have a few ideas for a couple of quick adjustments I can make to clarify things in the film a bit more (not including upgrading the special effects), and that's a direct result of all this awesome feedback.
 
Good work Amy. I think out of all your films I have seen so far this is the most "complete" - its the one with the most story and, because of that, it's also the one where Cheyenne has had to do the most acting, and quite the accomplished young actress she is becoming! You are beginning to push yourself more, and Cheyenne too, although, as someone else said, a little more brattiness was maybe called for. I look forward to this:

AmyO said:
I made the decision while putting this together that this is going to be the last project of this nature I do on my own.
Click to expand...

When someone of your talent gets a crew/collaborators I'm sure we will get some wonderful results.

Thanks for the entertainment,
Jason
 
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