Brazilian Porn Muse stars in Independent short film about a vampire and a serial killer
In the United States, several beautiful porn stars divided their careers between adult films and horror movies. Some famous examples: Marilyn Chambers, actress of the classic “Behind the Green Door”, starred in David Cronenberg’s “Rabid”; the muse Traci Lords left the X-Rated films to make the B horror “Not of this Earth”, and more recently a new generation of porn star, Jenna Jameson, starred in “Zombie Strippers”.
This phenomenon has now arrived in Brazil: Monica Mattos, the greatest and most successful Brazilian porn star, retired from adult films to make independent horror cinema.
The beautiful 29 years old brunette, who claims to have made more than 300 pornographic films, was the only Brazilian actress to win the AVN Award in USA (called “The Oscar of Porn Cinema”), in 2008, for Female Foreign Performer of the Year. Horror fan since childhood, she now changed from groans of pleasure to screams of horror.
“I’ve always loved horror movies since childhood, and never had any nightmare because of them. No, I always have fun watching them! I remember, when I was a kid, I used to meet friends from school to watch movies, and we always chose horror movies. The funny part was to see everybody scared to death while I was laughing all the way through”, said Monica, who would later become an actress of her beloved genre: “I never imagined that one day I would become an actress in horror films, but when I received the first invitation was like a dream coming true!”.
She starred in three horror short films since 2011: “Zombeach” (2011), directed by Newton Uzeda; “Driller Killer” (2011), directed by Rodrigo Freire, and “Red Hookers” (2012), directed by Larissa Pajaro Chogui. But her newest work claims to be the most ambitious of the Brazilian ex-porn muse: “O Estripador da Rua Augusta” (in english, “The Augusta Street Ripper”), a story of horror and dark humor non-pornographic, but full of sensuality.
Written and directed by Felipe M. Guerra and Geisla Fernandes, this short film has Monica Mattos in the role of a seductive vampire who wanders on the famous Augusta Street, in São Paulo, Brazil, and works as a prostitute as an easy way to get food in the wild São Paulo nights. But suddenly her path intersects with another monster that attacks at the same address, the Ripper of the title – a serial killer who is killing prostitutes in that region, played by Henrique Zanoni.
This short film is the first association between directors Felipe and Geisla. Both names are already recognized in the Brazilian independent circuit: Felipe started making homemade productions on VHS in 1995 and has seen his extremely low budget filmes, like “I Scream When I Knew What You Did in Friday the 13th of Last Summer”, reached film festivals in several countries, while Geisla’s latest work, zombie short “Necrochorume”, was recently screened in a film festival in Colombia.
Author of the story and co-author of the screenplay for “The Augusta Street Ripper”, Felipe explains the idea to invite Monica Mattos as the star: “After reading the finished script, I realized that Monica was the only actress that I saw as the character. This movie is like a bloody and sexy answer to these childish modern vampire movies like ‘Twilight’, so Monica fits perfectly in the proposal, and she is fantastic in every way!”.
Geisla speaks enthusiastically about the project: “It’s a movie full of dark humor and sex appeal, an experience that will surprise the viewers. The plot is inventive and courageous, because we built two different worlds – the world of the heroine and the world of the villain – and put them in parallel, culminating at this point where they clash, creating an absurd and exotic atmosphere”.
To make realistic the bloody scenes of torture and murder from “The Augusta Street Ripper”, the filmmakers hired the special effects technician André Kapel Furman. The most famous FX professional of Brazilian cinema, he has worked in feature films like “Embodiment of Evil”, directed by José Mojica Marins, “Drained”, directed by Heitor Dhalia, and “Reflections of a Blender”, directed by Andrew Klotzel.
The star itself is quite excited about the project: “I always liked vampire movies and loved the story of the short, it is an interesting mix of seduction and terror. The coolest part was going through makeup effects. Some impressed me so much that now I’m trying to imagine how the effects were done in every movie I see”, said Monica.
Filming is taking place in São Paulo, in an apartment in the center of the city and, of course, in the famous Augusta Street. Currently, production is in the final stage, and the release is scheduled to 2013, with the promise of transforming Monica Mattos in the new star of Brazilian independent horror.
Considering the actress’s performance in “The Augusta Street Ripper”, this will not be so difficult – and perhaps Monica becomes the new superstar of independent horror worldwide, not just in Brazil!
CAST AND CREW:
“The Augusta Street Ripper” (2013, Brazil)
Direction and screenplay: Felipe M. Guerra and Geisla Fernandes
Cast: Monica Mattos and Henrique Zanoni
Director of photography: Vinícius Bock
Assistant of photography and sound: Eduardo Luderer
Art direction: Elise Miyasaki
Production: Daniela Monteiro, Elise Miyasaki, Felipe M. Guerra and Geisla Fernandes
Makeup effects: André Kapel Furman
Felipe M. Guerra (writer-director)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/felipemguerrax
Geisla Fernandes (writer-director)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/geisla.fernandes.7
Photo Credits: Elise Miyasaki
