Why we recommend it
Review
Director José Eduardo Belmonte filmed Aurora 15 in less than a week, using producer Rodrigo Teixeira’s old house as the setting. That was in 2015. It’s hard to understand why it’s only being released now, but the film really does feel like it’s been sitting in a drawer for ten years. This description isn’t exactly a negative criticism, as there are some very peculiar qualities in Aurora 15 that, under the right conditions, could earn the film cult status, like a strange relic found in a dusty attic. Nor is the modest and rushed nature of the shoot necessarily a problem. Many celebrated titles were filmed under these conditions. In fact, the combination of “independent film/low budget” plus “plot confined to a single location” seems to invite this type of guerrilla production. Even more so if we add “horror film” to the equation. Hey, it worked for Evil Dead.Using well-known genre topics and themes, Aurora 15 begins its narrative one late afternoon, with real estate agent Mônica, played by Marjorie Estiano, opening the windows of a house in some remote location. She’s preparing to receive potential buyers Débora and her husband Bruno, played by Carolina Dieckmmann and Humberto Carrão. But the visit is interrupted by the sudden arrival of an old man asking for help, carrying an injured young woman in his arms. The girl, played by Olivia Torres, seems incapable of communicating. The old man (João Bourbonnais) says she’s his granddaughter Aurora, and that the two are being pursued and need to hide. The agent and the couple barely begin to understand this before the house is invaded by two other characters. Cousins João and Pedro (Juliano Cazarré and Milhem Cortaz) arrive armed and threatening, shouting insanely that they need to kill Aurora. And, more importantly, they need to do it before sunset.But before all this happens, the film opens with two quotes. One is the famous biblical passage about Legion, the man possessed by a group of demons that Jesus supposedly exorcised, and the other is some anonymous phrase about fearing the evil within oneself. After that comes a frenetic montage of violent images with shaky camera work (in a very 2015 style, by the way), suggesting that something evil and bloody is about to happen. But this is still followed by a long opening credits sequence done in inexplicable CGI, showing the horizon and the poorly rendered buildings of a large city. And finally, the film’s title appears: “Aurora”. Just “Aurora”, without the 15. This entire opening sequence suggests that this is not just a film that was shelved, but one that wasn’t really finished. I can’t say if the flawed photography is a symptom of this, but it’s obvious that the interesting sound design doesn’t compensate for the darkness of some scenes. Belmonte seems to want to emphasize the oppressive darkness of the house’s environment, but at the cost of the audience being able to discern even the characters’ features in some scenes. If there were an award for the worst-lit film released in 2025… the winner would still be Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, but Aurora 15 would certainly be in the running.
Despite all this, the film has some redeeming virtues. First, its duration. At 70 minutes, the story not only passes quickly, but it allows the viewer the chance to accept it for what it is. Short films like this have that almost experimental quality, in which we can approach them with a certain level of detachment and lightness. Like those bizarre Quentin Dupieux comedies. Even if you don’t like it, it won’t last long. Aurora 15 is a horror film with a monstrous girl committing a massacre. It comes, shows you that, and leaves. If it had twenty more minutes, even if they were twenty brilliant minutes, it would be a disaster. But beyond that, the film’s greatest asset is its cast, which is surprisingly committed. For example, Juliano Cazarré is very convincing as a man thrown into total despair by his fatal encounter with supernatural forces. But it’s Marjorie Estiano who really saves things here. Even though real estate agent Mônica is just a secondary character with relatively little screen time, the actress makes her memorable. Her mannerisms and reactions seem simultaneously completely spontaneous and completely over-the-top. In fact, after Good Manners, Mother’s Embrace, Bury Your Dead, and now Aurora 15, all that’s left is for Marjorie Estiano to star in a masked killer slasher to be crowned the new scream queen of Brazilian horror. There’s one specific scene where she freaks out so exaggeratedly that it’s almost haunting to see her that way. Or it would be, if the lighting allowed you to see her.
It really is a strange relic.
Where to watch Aurora 15:
Credits
Screenplay: Daniel Pech, Fernando Toste
Production: Rodrigo Teixeira
Produced by: RT Features
Cast: Carolina Dieckmmann, Humberto Carrão, João Bourbonnais, Juliano Cazarré, Marjorie Estiano, Milhem Cortaz, Olivia Torres
Cinematography: André Faccioli
Production Designer: Carol Ozzi
Editing: Bruno Lasevicius, Jota Santos
Music: ZePedro Gollo
