After making two genre movies that paid homage to the Italian giallos of the 1970s – SONNO PROFONDO (a.k.a. DEEP SLEEP) and FRANCESA – sibling filmmaking duo Luciano and Nicolás Onetti are back with a third genre project, and it appears that this one draws its inspiration from the Tobe Hooper classic THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. There's potential victims rolling around in an old van, a heavy presence of animal remains, and backwoods villains that like to put people through torturous experiences.
Titled WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND, the new film from the Onetti brothers has been racking up awards while making the global festival rounds, including prizes for the directors, cinematography, and lead actress.
Written by Carlos Goitia and the Onettis, the story centers on
a group of young people that take a trip to the ruins in order to film a documentary about Epecuén, a place that was one of the most important touristic villages of Argentina. Thousands of people concurred, attracted by the healing properties of its thermal waters. On November 10th 1985, a huge volume of water broke the protecting embankment and the village was submerged under ten meters of salt water. Epecuén disappeared. Thirty years later, the waters receded and the ruins of Epecuén emerged exposing a bleak and deserted landscape. The residents never returned.
Ignoring the warnings, and after a brief tour, the documentarians get stranded in the abandoned village. Contrary to what they thought, they begin to realize that they are really not alone…
Mirta Busnelli, Gustavo Garzon, Agustin Pardella, Victoria Maurette, Victorio D'Alessandro, Damian Dreizik, Paula Brasca, Paula Sartor, Chucho Fernandez, German Baudino, Evan Leed, and Tamara Garzon star.
There doesn't seem to be any U.S. release information for the movie yet, but it has secured distribution in Japan, Germany, Scandinavia, Taiwan, and Latin America. While we wait to hear more distribution news, a trailer has arrived online to offer a preview of WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND.
That trailer can be seen below, along with a trio of teaser posters that have a TCM-esque fascination with animal bones.