A young man returns to his recently deceased mother's charming gothic revival home, only to discover a sinister presence lying within that may be linked to a peculiar cult run by two strange... Read allA young man returns to his recently deceased mother's charming gothic revival home, only to discover a sinister presence lying within that may be linked to a peculiar cult run by two strange brothers.A young man returns to his recently deceased mother's charming gothic revival home, only to discover a sinister presence lying within that may be linked to a peculiar cult run by two strange brothers.
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If you like both a film that asks you questions and is deeply metaphorically and religiously compelling, watch this movie.
Watch this one if you have a keen intelligence and want something different.
Rodrigo Gudiño's first stab at a feature length horror movie is an indicator of good things to come.
When was the last time I watched a horror movie that ACTUALLY gave me the chills?
if you came up with a movie or two that truly got under your skin at one point or another during the film(s), you know that those involved with those movies are true horror fans. The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh is also one of those types of horror movies.
for his first go at a full length, Rodrigo Gudiño let everyone know that he's here for one reason only: to strike genuine fear via filmmaking. granted, the premise is something you've seen a million times. without saying too much, the premise is the straight forward 'Alone In the House' approach. which usually is an indicator that the movie you are about to see is something you'll forget about five minutes afterwards because you've seen it a million times.
if you can appreciate the technical side of filmmaking, then you can appreciate the way The Last Testament was made. speaking honestly, i can say that about five minutes in i already judged this movie with a "Yep. Here we go. AGAIN..." attitude. i imagined a bunch of first year film students critiquing every shot and pointing out technical 'mistakes' with such aspects like lighting, camera work, acting, this, that, and whatever else they bore each other with.
but there's something to keep in mind: Gudiño focuses on the story. he puts all his eggs into the first step in filmmaking - writing a good story FIRST, then move along to the other stuff. which doesn't always apply to horror movies (although, sometimes that's not a bad thing.) this story is the most important part. so if the snarky film students point out every little rookie mistake with the filmmaking process of a rookie first film, so be it. in ten years, the jokes on them. in ten years they'll realize Gudiño's first attempt was only his warm up. his foot in the door. while they're sitting around forcing out critiques and secretly wishing they were in Gudiño's director chair.
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I loved this slow pace, rich decorations, brave camera angles and the sound work. Finally not only boom-sound effects! Just a subtle squeaking wood under one's feet in an old empty house - that's a kind of scare I was looking for. The art of attention to details is here again.
I can agree that The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh didn't untap all the potential it has uncovered. Surely not because of lacking substance.
I rather believe that the author wanted to say way more than runtime allowed to - on religion, obsessions, mother-son relationship, on religion and loneliness.. Or may be he left the space for our imagination by intent. Whatever the reason the more interesting it will be to see next works from Rodrigo Gudino I'm definitely subscribing to.
Gudiño's first shot at not shorts. He quite nailed it! Gudiño takes us into the very self of his characters; we get to know them, to feel what they felt.
Guy enters mother's home in hopes of selling, because she has passed away; guy starts to feel, hear, see things...It looks like the very same formula, but, Gudiño takes it one step up, if not a couple more.
Innovation finally arrives in this genre. A great start to build a pretty good future for Gudiño.
Did you know
- TriviaThe writer and director inspired by Stanley Kubrick's style of shooting movies within only a few miles of his home drove around Toronto looking at houses until he found a house owned by a mother and two children who were eccentric Collectors.
- Quotes
Rosalind Leigh: Sometimes, late at night, you can still feel the loneliness, like an animal, in the dark, ready to pounce. It can make a warm memory seem empty and unfamiliar. Past things seem insignificant, and even faith, seem trivial and worthless.
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- Also known as
- Última voluntad y testamento de Rosalind Leigh
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Box office
- Budget
- CA$1,800,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 22m(82 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1