Behind the Darkness: Shooting with Mariana Enriquez
A chance encounter, an old factory, and a story that lingers long after the cameras stop rolling.
Some interviews feel like they’re summoned rather than scheduled.
When the Etch team had the rare opportunity to film with Mariana Enriquez — one of horror’s most haunting contemporary voices — it wasn’t the result of long planning. Mariana happened to be visiting New York for a series of events, and graciously made time for an interview.
The location, hidden deep in Brooklyn, felt equally summoned. An old factory transformed into a maze of studio spaces, the building oozed atmosphere and history — every brick seemed heavy with memory. Just beyond the set was a secret library, lined with rare and eclectic volumes, from books on South American revolutions to collections of gay erotica. While they didn’t film inside the library, its spirit bled into the walls of the day.
When the cameras began to roll, Mariana’s voice filled the space — steady, powerful, haunting. Listening to her recount life under the shadow of dictatorship wasn’t just moving; it was unforgettable. When she spoke of Veronica and the nuns, the air itself seemed to shift. And her words — "we were totally no future" — stayed with the team long after filming ended.
For the visual storytelling, Etch chose a new approach: still images, slow zooms, minimal effects — something like a strange, chilling Reading Rainbow for horror. Mariana embraced the idea immediately and suggested bringing in Santiago Caruso, an artist whose vivid, unsettling work had previously intersected with her own stories. His illustrations stitched the project together in a way that felt inevitable.
And then, there was the door.
At the end of the interview, Mariana was asked to simply walk out — no rehearsals, no intricate direction. As she stepped through, a sudden burst of sunlight flooded the space for a single breath before the heavy door swung shut, plunging the room back into darkness. It was raw, perfect, and unplanned — the ideal ending not only to her interview, but to the entire season.
If the day had to be summed up in three words?
A powerful darkness.
Mariana Enriquez’s episode of First Word on Horror is streaming now, exclusively on our Substack.
La amo