The Eyes Of Edward James
A session with director, Rodrigo Gudiño
“The horror genre is extremely derivative.”
Not an unusual statement given at any moment by a horror fan, considering the rampant rate that the movie industry is hellbent on remaking and rehashing every plot trope and film we hold dear. The statement is quite unusual and refreshingly frank from Rodrigo Gudiño, president of Marrs Media, Inc. and founder of one of North America’s most relevant dark fantasy publication, Rue Morgue.
This year, at the eighth annual TromaDance Film Festival in Park City, UT, Mr. Gudiño was not a panelist or a sponsor, he was an accepted entrant presenting his directorial debut short, The Eyes Of Edward James, a stunning cinematic psychotherapy session that strips the layers of the protagonist’s subconscious to relive a traumatic event in his life.
“I wanted to write and direct before getting involved with [Rue Morgue],” says Gudiño. “I thought it was my stepping stone…into the film biz and that’s the way it played out.” He adds, “I’ve always been a storyteller. Less about effects, more about the story,” getting in one more jab at the behemoth machine churning out money-making messes, where even a blade into a neck or a shadow on the wall could be computer generated.
Last year after writing around nine short scripts, Rodrigo was faced with the cruel decision of which baby to birth first. His choice is one that is similar to most independent artists struggling to make their vision a reality. “Shoot the most inexpensive one,” he states, “Even though [The Eyes of Edward James] wasn’t emblematic of where I was going as a filmmaker, I used it as my Filmmaking 101.”
As Gudiño has been at the helm of Rue Morgue and at the forefront of everything horror, I asked if he found it difficult to discover a story that remained fresh considering how inundated he was with other people’s ideas. He answered with a statement I hope echoes in the head of every person making films today. “It’s very easy to color outside of the lines…to be original.” “As someone who has read editorials for the past 10 years, I love all types of horror…to criticize and celebrate. [Rue Morgue’s] tastes are left of center, we’re always looking to discover new ideas.”
The Eyes Of Edward James uses the complex and mechanical triggers of a hypnotic therapy session, keeping the audience’s gaze darting around the screen looking for new clues as we walk down a repetitious, first-person journey to discover what happened the night that has caused him so much anguish. Not unlike a musical composition, the camera, actors and dialogue were in perfect harmony, each leading the story to its shocking crescendo. As a lover of puzzles, Gudiño notes that the film has “levels of deceit” and “duplicitous relationships” in which the viewer is coerced into contributing their own ideas leading up to the final reveal. In reliance on a first person viewpoint and the voices of doctor and patient to advance the narrative, Gudiño faced his biggest challenge. “The hardest part of making The Eyes Of Edward James was choreographing. Dialogue was live on set and timed for a voice over in ADR. The takes were over two and a half minutes long and whenever the character of Sarah is speaking the actors have to follow the beats of her lines.” In order to prepare this difficult task, Rodrigo took a digital camera and shot the whole movie with another actor, so his cinematographer knew the pacing and direction. For the actual movie, Rodrigo relied on the indie film workhorse, Panasonic’s DVX100 and utilized subtle color shifts in post to reflect the mood of each set piece. Despite the fact that he had problems with digital video’s noisy handling of darkness and had to replace the voice of Edward James in post, he also has a movie that is dark, fresh and exciting.
Rodrigo believes the movie “set the groundwork for Rue Morgue films” and that he’s looking forward to continue “coloring outside the lines” in the future. That future is right around the corner as Gudiño mentions he has just finished shooting his new Super 16mm short, Demonology Of Desire and will move on to features; films that “satisfy me personally and not what’s determined”.
What can be determined is that after the enthusiastic audience reaction to ‘The Eyes Of Edward James’, director Rodrigo Gudiño will be keeping our ‘Eyes’ peeled for a long time to come.
Jonathan Lees
Program Director, TromaDance Film Festival
If you missed ‘The Eyes of Edward James’ at the 8th Annual TromaDance Film Festival, look for it at the Boston Undergound Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Le Festival Americque and the University Of Toronto Film Festival.
TromaDance is a non-profit, free film festival run completely by volunteers in Park City, UT on the same street and the same time as the Sundance Film Festival. TromaDance does not charge filmmakers to submit their films, nor does it charge the audience to see the films. TromaDance is a film festival for the people and by the people.
Submit your film or read the latest info at: www.tromadance.com
