Private Project

El Extraño Detrás de la Puerta

Ana was accepted into a renowned dance academy in Europe, so Pablo, her best friend, plans the perfect farewell in her old cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Their trip is cut short when Ana, in a fit of drunkenness, decides to send the location of the cabin to her toxic ex-boyfriend.

Alex's arrival becomes an ordeal for Pablo, who simply decides to spend the weekend with the couple in reconciliation, while he watches his platonic love fall once again into the clutches of his favorite manipulative narcissist.

Pablo decides to leave them on the road to take a truck to the airport and end their suffering, not knowing that what he experienced the previous days was only the beginning of the real hell.

That same night, Alex returns to the cabin and tells Pablo that a deadly pandemic has broken out all over the world and that Ana did make her flight, but he did not.

After an intense discussion, Pablo gives Alex the opportunity to stay in his car until he can find a place to go. The days pass and Alex begins to secure his days in the cabin, until Pablo allows him to enter.

Together, the two enemies begin to do everything they can to survive in an isolated environment without food.

Both, having only the car radio to know what is going on in the outside world, realize that they only have each other.

The differences between Pablo and Alex slowly begin to become part of the past, until the true demons of each begin to shed their masks.

Pablo and Alex will have to be smart, intelligent and above all honest enough to preserve their lives from a threat stronger than the virus itself... their true instincts.

  • Renton Méndez
    Director
    En La Nada, Después de Ti, Luciana, Fight Back
  • Carlos Horacio Canales
    Writer
  • Renton Méndez
    Producer
  • Carlos Horacio Canales
    Key Cast
    "Pablo"
  • Andrés Torrano
    Key Cast
    "Alex"
  • Fabiola Rivera
    Key Cast
    "Ana"
  • Mauricio Llera
    Key Cast
    "Ramón"
  • Ricardo Martín
    Key Cast
    "Fermín"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 15 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 17, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    45,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Mexico
  • Country of Filming:
    Mexico
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Girona Film Fest
    Girona
    Spain
    November 4, 2024
    European
    Best Neo Noir
  • Coliseum International Film Festival
    Roma
    Italy
    December 21, 2024
    Italian
    Best Neo Noir
  • Festival Internacional de Cine de Ciudad Madero
    Ciudad Madero
    Mexico
    November 23, 2024
    Best National Picture - Best Screenplay - Best Actor
  • Veracruz World Film Festival
    Veracruz
    Mexico
    March 1, 2025
    Mexican
    Official Selection
  • Festival de Cine con Riesgo
    Buenos Aires
    Argentina
    November 29, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Espanto Film Fest
    Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo
    Mexico
    October 24, 2024
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Yellow Cabin Studios
    Distributor
    Country: Mexico
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Renton Méndez

Specialization in Directing and Screenwriting, producer of several feature films and fiction projects.

Director, producer and screenwriter, founding partner of "Moon Wolf Studio", "Opilion Studios" and "Yellow Cabin Studios".

Director and founder of MICMXIFF
Independent Film Market Mx
International Film Festival.

Awarded and selected in festivals such as:

Girona Film Fest
Oaxaca Film Fest
Espanto Film Fest
Los Angeles Cine Fest
Top Shorts Film Festival
Paris Screenplay Awards
Los Angeles Comedy Festival
Paladino d'Oro Sport Film Festival
Buenos Aires Indie Shorts Awards
Branson International Film Festival
Chicago Underground Film Festival
Kunturñawi Ecuadorian Film Festival
Monterrey International Film Festival
Guanajuato International Film Festival
Cannes International Screenplay Awards
San Luis Potosi International Film Festival
New York International Films Infest Festival
London International Motion Picture Awards
Toronto International Independent Film Festival

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The stranger behind the door invites us to see the world from a somber perspective, but it also teaches us the volatility of the human being.

The challenge in the film is continuity by having jumps in time, the atmosphere will be altered at every moment, but we move forward in a subtle way.

The focus on the human side, but critical of our protagonists, will maintain the story at all times.

Suggestive proposals without being explicit, the power of the visual will always go beyond the text, and although this is the text, and although this is enriching, the real weight lies in the actions carried out by our characters.

The work of the actors will keep the viewer on the edge of the seat, awkward silences, very close dialogues uncomfortable silences, very sharp and cutting dialogues, irony plays a very important role, tension will be part of our tension will be part of our narrative enriching the story.

The camera movements will have to do with the life of each character, they will reflect the way in which each one sees the world in which they live.

Lighting is a very important factor in our film, because from it we create the perfect environment for our viewer.

Since the characters complement each other, we will vary the way we frame them:

If they are together, our picture will be balanced, symmetrical, but if we see them separately, we will cut part of their body, we will form asymmetrical, chaotic compositions.