The arrival in British cinemas this week of The Secret Of Marrowbone marks the arrival of a new director on the Spanish horror scene – but he’s not a new name.
Some ten years ago, Sergio G Sanchez saw his script for The Orphanage turned into a film by his now friend and collaborator, director J A Bayona, alongside producer Guillermo del Toro. Sanchez also wrote The Impossible, which he and Bayona also turned into a movie, but it’s only now that he’s been able to take his turn behind the camera for The Secret Of Marrowbone. Set in the 60s, it’s the story of a young family in an isolated house who find they’re being haunted by an evil force and by the ghosts of their own pasts.
SEE ALSO: Exclusive Interview – George MacKay and Mia Goth on starring in The Secret Of Marrowbone
Sanchez, pictured above (left) on set with Matthew Stagg (centre) and George MacKay, describes the film as “a Russian doll”, one which peels back layer upon layer of the story until it reaches its heart. And, talking to Flickering Myth’s Freda Cooper, he also admits that, while the narrative doesn’t always follow a straight line, all does become clear in the end.
He also reveals that the movie had a different ending. Shooting the film chronologically, once they reached the final scenes, he found that the original conclusion simply didn’t work. Rather than film several alternatives, he wrote a new one and it’s that one which has made it to the version of the film now on screens.
The Secret Of Marrowbone is released in UK cinemas on Friday, 13 July. Read our review here.
Freda Cooper. Follow me on Twitter.
