Ahead of this week’s screening at Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow we sat down with director Christopher Alender and writer Marcos Gabriel to discuss their film The Old Ways. Set in Veracruz, The Old Ways joins a Mexican American reporter, Cristina Lopez (Brigitte Kali Canales), as she returns to her ancestral homeland to investigate a story on witchcraft and faith healers. Whilst exploring, she is kidnapped by the local “bruja” and her son. The pair have captured her as they believe she has a demon within her, and won’t let her free until they exorcise the malevolent force… no matter what it takes. As Cristina struggles to make her escape, she slowly comes to believe that they may be telling the truth after all. Along with her captors – and estranged cousin Miranda (Andrea Cortés) – Cristina’s fight for survival turns into a fight for her soul.
The Old Ways is a sinister and vibrant reworking of the conventional exorcism story. By tapping into the history and superstitions of Mexian culture, The Old Ways is one of the films not to miss at Glasgow FrightFest. The creators, director Christopher Alender and writer Marcos Gabriel, are co-founders of Soapbox Films, a one-stop shop for all creative needs. In recent years, the company has produced The Wind and The Mortuary Collection, which both screened at past FrightFest events, and so it seems only right that their own venture behind the camera and script should get the same treatment.
The Old Ways screens as part of Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow on Friday 5th March 2021.
