# History of the Occult

History of the Occult (Spanish: Historia de lo Oculto) is a 2020 thriller horror film written and directed by Cristian Ponce in his feature directorial debut. An international co-production between Argentina and Mexico, the film is presented as the final episode of a fictional 1980s Argentine television news program titled 60 Minutos Antes de la Medianoche ("60 Minutes Before Midnight"), during which the show's journalists attempt to expose a conspiracy that connects their government to a mysterious corporation that practices black magic.
History of the Occult premiered at MOTELX (Lisbon International Horror Film Festival) in Portugal on 8 September 2020, and was made available for streaming on Netflix in Spain and Latin America on 15 October 2021.

## Plot

Shot in black-and-white, the film takes place in 1987 Buenos Aires. At 11 p.m., the last ever episode of journalistic late-night television show 60 Minutos Antes de la Medianoche ("60 Minutes Before Midnight") will air, followed by a midnight rally against President Belasco. The show has been cancelled after a year-long investigation promising to expose Belasco's economic policies, corruption, and alleged ties to the occult. The episode will feature host Alfredo in a live interview with Senator Matías Linares, sociologist writer Daniel Aguilar, and Adrián Marcato, vice president and co-founder of Kingdom Corporate, Argentina's largest corporation, and rumored warlock. Two of the men's names appear in a mysterious notebook left at the ritual murder scene of a John Doe a year ago, and which links Belasco to Kingdom Corporate and political assassinations. The show's producers and journalists ―Maria, Lucio, Jorge and Abel― watch from a safe house, expecting Marcato to confirm on air the President's involvement with the occult. Their back-up Natalia is out in the city looking for a secret base which houses a piece of evidence the investigation requires.
On air, Marcato asks Linares how many daughters he has. He answers two, but Marcato tells him he has three, and doesn't remember the youngest, having "given her up". They get into a heated argument and Linares storms out of the studio. Marcato talks about alternate realities, and says the reason why Linares doesn't remember his third daughter is because she's no longer part of "this" reality. The team, meanwhile, has been sent four doses of hallucinogenic tannis root by Von Merkens labs, Belasco's opposers and the only company that would sponsor the show. The root is needed to complete a ritual that will help Natalia find the required evidence, which must be retrieved before midnight.
Marcato calmly admits to being a warlock, having been initiated in the dark arts as a child by his grandmother. Jorge begins having visions of a mysterious red light and asks Maria how many children each of the men involved in the conspiracy have. Maria's answers match their information, and she emphasizes that Marcato doesn't have any children. This contradicts an occurrence on the show in which a woman calls and makes obscene remarks about Marcato's daughter. When Aguilar mocks his abilities, Marcato causes him to start bleeding profusely from his nose and eyes. Under Abel's guidance, Maria, Jorge and Lucio partake on a séance-like ritual. They have disturbing visions of a flashing red light, a burned figure, and a tentacled being.
In a flashback, it's revealed Marcato was cast out of his coven, and made a deal with the journalists. He'd help them unmask Belasco on national television, on the condition that they get him one of many unnamed artifacts the coven keeps hidden in secret bases all over Buenos Aires. When Jorge wakes up, Lucio's missing and Abel's dead. A hysterical Maria claims Abel was a warlock infiltrated by the coven. She killed him after he killed Lucio and attacked her. Jorge again asks Maria how many children the men have; this time her answers don't match their documents. By her part, Natalia has retrieved the artifact but is being followed by a member of the coven, and she ends up shooting him.
On the show's final minutes, Natalia arrives at the studio and gives Alfredo the artifact: A modern-day smartphone. Nervous, Marcato phones his daughter and begins revealing everything: Kingdom Corporate is indeed a coven of warlocks who made a deal with beings from another world, and used their power to put Belasco in office and take over the Argentinean government. Now hysterical, Marcato tells his daughter to read out loud the word written on a book. Regretting everything he's done, he addresses viewers and begins uttering the word just as the broadcast ends. The film then changes to color. Marcato has disappeared, and a shocked Alfredo asks if anyone heard the word. Maria and Jorge, still in black-and-white, stare hopelessly at the TV.

## Production

Filming took place in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

## Release

History of the Occult had its world premiere at MOTELX (Lisbon International Horror Film Festival) in Portugal on 8 September 2020. It later screened at the virtual edition of Spain's Sitges Film Festival in October 2020, as well as the virtual edition of Argentina's Mar del Plata International Film Festival in November 2020.
The film was made available for streaming on Netflix in Spain and Latin America on 15 October 2021. WarnerMedia made the film available for streaming on HBO Max in Central Europe, while in North America the film debuted on Screambox in December 2022.

## Reception

Andrew Mack of Screen Anarchy called the film "a thinking person's horror thriller, not one for idle minds. Staying with this cryptic mystery all the way through to its 'effect ending' will be rewarding once you have deciphered it."

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref(s) |
| 2020 | Mar del Plata International Film Festival | Best Latin American Debut Film | Won | |