Just over a year has passed since we heard that Pablo Larraín, director of the films Jackie, Ema, and Spencer, as well as the Stephen King mini-series Lisey’s Story, was in production on El Conde, which depicts real-world dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire. Now a trailer for El Conde has arrived online, revealing that the film is scheduled to be released through the Netflix streaming service on September 15th. The trailer can be seen in the embed above.
Scripted by Larraín and his frequent collaborator Guillermo Calderón, El Conde is a horror dark comedy that imagines a parallel universe inspired by the recent history of Chile. The film portrays Augusto Pinochet, a symbol of world fascism, as a vampire who lives hidden in a ruined mansion in the cold southern tip of the continent, feeding his appetite for evil to sustain his existence. After two hundred and fifty years of life, Pinochet has decided to stop drinking blood and abandon the privilege of eternal life. He can no longer bear that the world remembers him as a thief. Despite the disappointing and opportunistic nature of his family, he finds new inspiration to continue living a life of vital and counterrevolutionary passion through an unexpected relationship.
In case you’re not immediately aware of who Pinochet was, The Playlist notes that “Pinochet was the infamous Chilean dictator who led a military coup in the ‘70s and ruled the country until 1990. He died in 2006.”
Larraín provided the following statement when he was heading into production: “Using dark comedy we want to observe, understand and analyze the events that have occurred in Chile and the world in the last 50 years. We have total confidence that we’ll do a good job and it will undoubtedly be an adventure: a demanding shoot, but very inspiring and meaningful.”
El Conde stars Jaime Vadell (Tres tristes tigres), Gloria Münchmeyer (La luna en el espejo), Alfredo Castro (Tony Manero), and Paula Luchsinger (Ema).
What did you think of the El Conde trailer? Are you a fan of Pablo Larraín’s work, and will you be watching this movie when it starts streaming next month? Let us know by leaving a comment below.