Let’s face it, Omar Rodriguez Lopez has the touch. Now aged 34, The Mars Volta guitarist and solo artist has got a hefty discography piling up behind him, not to mention some pretty exciting and strange short films including the currently unreleased A Manual Dexterity (2001) and Letters from Dystopia (2003). However, with his third film, The Sentimental Engine Slayer, Lopez will finally make his directorial debut. Next month, the film will see its very own world premiere at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam on February 4th.
Written and directed by Lopez himself, The Sentimental Engine Slayer focuses on the long overdue coming of age process for 20-something misfit, Barlam (played by Lopez). And from the trailer, we can already tell it’s going to be a suspenseful, gory mess with thrills and chills surrounding Barlam’s relationship with the female lead. Amidst the drug-addled suburban El Paso, TX Barlam awkwardly transitions from a boy to a man; sifting through deep-ridden stereotypes and tripping over learned family morals and parental advice within today’s distorted image of family life.
Unsurprisingly for Lopez, since production for The Sentimental Engine Driver finished back in 2007 Lopez, as usual, was able to find the time amidst his other obligations to complete two more feature length films which are currently both in post-production; El Divino Influjo De Los Secretos (2008) and Boiling Death Request (2009). For more information on The Sentimental Engine Driver head over to the film’s IMDB page and while you’re at it look below for the film’s eerie teaser trailer.
