He mexican horror comes to Blumhouse con don’t follow methe first production in Spanish from the iconic American studio to mark a milestone in the collaboration between Hollywood and Latin America, and has among its cast Julia Maqueo, who delves into the genre with a story that mixes supernatural horror and social criticism.
“I think they finally realized that there is talent in Mexico, and a lot of it,” Maqueo commented in an interview with this medium. “Blumhouse trusted this story and this story trusted me.
It is something historic at a Latin American level that they have given us the opportunity to make the first Blumhouse film here,” he continued.
The film tells the story of Carla, a young woman obsessed with fame on social networks, whose life takes a dark turn when her publications unleash supernatural forces when she moves to a haunted apartment and Sam, Julia’s role, helps her achieve her goal.
For Maqueo, the challenge was total: “It’s the first time I’ve done horror. The experience was quite immersive; The locations were real, places where things really happened.“.
You felt that the spaces were another character. When you entered the set, you didn’t feel like you were recording, I felt like I was in an alternate reality.”
Filmed in Mexico City, Don’t Follow Me took advantage of locations with history.
“We recorded in the Insurgentes 300 building, in the Canada building and in an apartment in the San Rafael neighborhood where, they say, a woman died of a psychotic break. That place had not been opened for years, and as seen in the film, that’s how it was, without much assembly, almost everything as we found it.”
Although she admits to being “very afraid,” the actress confessed that her interest in the genre prompted her to experiment. “I’m a big fan of horror movies, although I’ve never done it before. I’m scared, but morbid,” she joked.
The preparation to play Sam even included a playlist to get into character:
“I made him a list of music, so I could get into his energy and get out of it when we were done.”
Maqueo also reported that the production resorted to protection rituals due to the strong symbolic meaning of the filming locations. “Our directors went with their shamans, they cleaned before and after filming. Supposedly, one of the shamans told them that a portal opened and that they had to close it when they finished.”
Beyond supernatural horror, Don’t Follow Me reflects on loneliness and the search for validation in the digital environment.
“Networks are something generational. I grew up with them, but what we see is only a minimal part of real life. The film leaves you with that: that not everything we show is what we are. It talks about the need to fit in, about how alone we can feel behind the screen.”
After passing through Morelia International Film Festivalwhere the film had its premiere in Mexico, the actress acknowledges that she still has a hard time assimilating the scope of the project: “I am late in realizing what is happening,” she concluded.
Don’t Follow Me was the opening screening of the 18th edition of the Mórbido Festival and it is already in theaters.
What is it about?
Don’t Follow Me tells the story of Carla, a girl who is obsessed with social networks and increasing her number of followers on her supernatural YouTube channel, so she decides to move to a haunted building that will unleash a wave of supernatural events that will make reason question reality.
¡Curious fact!
Blumhouse is the production house behind blockbuster hits such as Paranormal Activity, Black Telephone, The Night of the Demon, among others.
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