Patricio Valladares: Movies & Filmography

Patricio Valladares (born 17 July 1982 in Chillán, Chile) is a prolific Chilean filmmaker whose work traverses the borders between arthouse and grind‑house horror. His signature style blends extreme violence, black humor, and surrealist touches, often featuring recurring serial‑killer characters that reappear across his filmography. Valladares first gained international attention with the true‑story‑inspired Hidden in the Woods (2011), which premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival and later toured major genre events such as FrightFest. The film’s raw intensity caught the eye of actor Michael Biehn, leading to an English‑language remake produced by Biehn’s company. In subsequent years he expanded his oeuvre with the dark comedy Toro Loco: Bloodthirsty (2014), showcased at Mexico’s Mórbido Fest, and an ambitious trio of English‑language projects in 2015—including the experimental thriller Downhill, the Istanbul‑set found‑footage horror The Ghosts of Garip, and the collaboration with Robert Englund on Nightworld (2016). Each of these titles reflects Valladares’s willingness to experiment with narrative form while maintaining a visceral, gore‑laden aesthetic. He also writes comics and short films, constantly injecting artistic cinematography and intellectual dialogue into his work, which has earned him a reputation as a versatile storyteller within the global horror community.