INVOKING YELL – a Love Letter to Black Metal and Found Footage Horror

Sponsored Feature: Welcome Villain Films

INVOKING YELL is a found-footage horror film written by Barry Keating and directed by Patricio Valladares.

Watch the trailer here!

Set in 1997 south of Chile, INVOKING YELL is a love letter to both black metal and found footage that follows a trio of metalhead twenty-something girls who venture into the woods to shoot the demo tape for their black metal band, Invoking Yell. However, things take a sinister turn as they document their disturbing and unorthodox process of recording paranormal phenomena to be used in the album’s final track.

A Q&A with Director Patricio Valladares

Hi Patricia, welcome to Rabbit in Red! We’re excited to dive into your latest project, Invoking Yell. Can you share what sparked the idea for this paranormal found footage film?

Hey Everyone! thanks for this. Well a while ago, I was chatting with one of the co-directors of Frightfest, Alan Jones, and I told him I was feeling a bit stuck as a filmmaker. I didn’t want to make movies with a lot of blood or violence for a while. Alan suggested I try something different. So, I think it was in March 2022 when an idea came to me. I had heard about a metal band called Aghast and their atmospheric music, and that’s where the idea was born. Then, I remembered when I was a teenager, I saw a show about EVP recordings, and that sparked the thought of wrapping it all together into a film. Since our budget was quite modest, the found footage format ended up being the best creative decision.

INVOKING YELL directed by Patricio Valladares

Invoking Yell seamlessly blends found footage, paranormal, and black metal elements. What inspirations were drawn from these genres during the film’s creation?

Well, it’s pretty obvious that I’m a fan of the V/H/S series—it was a big influence, along with The Blair Witch Project. Also, in Chile, like probably everywhere else in the world during the late ’90s, we used to record metal music videos that aired on MTV at midnight. On top of that, we would go to metal concerts and film them with our Hi-8 camera.

“I’m a fan of the V/H/S series—it was a big influence, along with The Blair Witch Project.”

What were some of the most significant hurdles you faced during the production of Invoking Yell, and how did you overcome them?

Well, filming a traditional movie is already full of problems to solve along the way, but this was even worse because we shot the entire film in just three days. Trying to keep the continuity and maintain the actors’ mood, especially in the night scenes, was really challenging. On top of that, the weather kept changing. It would start raining, and we’d have to stop for a while. Imagine that I had to shoot 25 minutes of the movie per day, and by the end of the third day, I needed to have an 80-minute film. It was a real masterclass in the “film and run” school of filmmaking. I’m not sure if I would do it again. But in the end, it gave the film much of its unique pace.

The performances by Andrea Ozuljevich, Macarena Carrere, and María Jesús Marcone are truly captivating. Can you walk us through the casting process and what drew you to each of them for their respective roles?

There wasn’t really a casting process. I met Macarena and Andrea at a pub in Buenos Aires—they were a couple, girlfriends—and after chatting, we became close. I immediately thought of Macarena for one of the characters in Invoking Yell. But I still needed the band’s leader. I remembered there was an actress who would always send me her reel, eager to collaborate on something. That was María Jesús. She turned out to be a real discovery, because she’s not a metal fan—actually, none of the three girls were—but they were super dedicated in studying the movement. In the end, I thought, “I’ll cast Macarena’s girlfriend as the girl behind the camera.” It all worked out well, especially since there were so few of us filming—just the three girls, my friend Vittorio, and me, lost in the woods.

What message or lasting impression do you hope audiences will take away from Invoking Yell?

Well, I hope to capture the vibe of the ’90s metal scene along with the analog horror feel that The Blair Witch Project left us with. I’m a huge fan of Mark Duplass’ mumblecore films, and this project has a bit of that influence, but with some creepy elements added in. I love found footage when it uses that slow-burn narrative style, so I hope you enjoy it. It was made with a lot of passion for filmmaking—definitely more passion than budget, haha!

Visit welcomevillain.com to learn more about INVOKING YELL.