{"id":3647,"date":"2026-07-06T14:37:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3647"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:37:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:37:41","slug":"the-black-demon-atlantis-the-making-of-a-shark-thriller-at-8600-feet-above-sea-level-in-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3647","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Black Demon: Atlantis\u2019: The Making of a Shark Thriller at 8,600 Feet Above Sea Level in Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tWhen the producers of shark thriller \u201cThe Black Demon\u201d decided to make a sequel, making it in Colombia was a no-brainer. Mucho Mas Media, led by Javier Chapa, had already shot three other movies in the country with local production company Jaguar Bite.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe first pic they shot in Colombia, golf drama \u201cThe Long Game,\u201d was set in Texas, their second, \u201cRosario,\u201d in New York and the third, biopic \u201cJenni,\u201d in Long Beach, California. \u201cThat tells you a lot right there,\u201d says Chapa.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe credits his \u201cThe Black Demon\u201d production designer Carlos Osorio, a Colombian, for introducing him to Jaguar Bite. \u201cWe quickly connected with [Jaguar Bite execs] Sim\u00f3n Beltr\u00e1n and JP Solano, and the rest of the team at Jaguar Bite. And then after that, it just made a lot of sense to keep doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey\u2019re not only incredible partners, but over time we\u2019ve developed a real shorthand with them. They\u2019ve also become great friends and there\u2019s a deep level of trust between us. That\u2019s really why we keep going back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the sequel, \u201cThe Black Demon: Atlantis\u201d the megalodon returns \u201cfaster, fiercer, and deadlier than ever,\u201d to a fortress-like prison island known as the Atlantis, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It follows Jerry Simms (played by Jack Kesy), an undercover DEA agent who enters the maximum-security prison after a fellow operative vanishes while investigating a string of inmate deaths. These are linked to Diego N\u00fa\u00f1ez (Harold Torres), the prison\u2019s most feared convict, whose cult-like influence is fueled by rumors of ancient powers.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs mutilated bodies pile up and rumors of blood rituals spread, the prison descends into chaos. With only Chato (Julio C\u00e9sar Cedillo), a haunted inmate who knows Atlantis\u2019s darkest secrets, as an ally, Jerry must fight to survive when the legendary Black Demon erupts from the depths, transforming the prison into a brutal nightmare.<\/p>\n

\n\tMaking \u201cThe Black Demon: Atlantis\u201d meant building a giant water tank in a warehouse and involved seven weeks of prep and a 27-day shoot, which just wrapped on July 1. This was all done in Bogot\u00e1, which at 8,600 feet makes it the third highest capital city in the world.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere was one set in a TransMilenio [underground facility] and another in a warehouse. We built multiple sets, both small and large, so it was really a combination of different sets and practical locations. The director was going for a very brutalist look, and Carlos [Osorio], along with our location manager and art director, found some great locations that matched the sets we were building. We kind of reverse-engineered everything from there. Carlos and his right-hand man, Charlie, also created some great artwork, so we had a really good sense of what this prison set piece in the middle of the ocean was going to look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe sequel is the feature directorial debut of Colombian-born Carmen Cabana, a cinematographer whose notable credits include the series \u201cResident Evil,\u201d \u201cMs. Marvel\u201d and \u201cNarcos\u201d and Mucho Mas Media\u2019s \u201cRosario.\u201d The rest of the crew, including the heads of department, were also Colombian.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe\u2019s a very accomplished and talented cinematographer. We\u2019d been trying to find something to do together. And she\u2019s a huge horror genre lover and loves shark films so when the opportunity presented itself, she was the first person that came to mind.\u201d Chapa relates.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cWe have an incredible shorthand with Carmen, built on friendship and a lot of trust. It\u2019s also really important to us to give first-time filmmakers a shot, especially Latinos and Latinas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEvery movie has its challenges \u2013 you can always use more days. With this one, the biggest challenge was obviously the amount of water work. There were a lot of stunts and special effects, so when you put all those variables together, you\u2019re dealing with something that can be pretty challenging. Then there were the practical considerations, like keeping the water tanks warm for the cast and crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDealing with altitude sickness was not too big an issue. They drank a lot of coca tea, as suggested, and got acclimatized fairly quickly, he says.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s been a great shoot overall. The most important thing for us was safety, obviously \u2013 especially when you\u2019re working in these conditions with water, special effects and stunts. We had an incredible safety team, and Jaguar does a great job of hiring local crews who really understand production planning and safety needs and how to make sure our cast and crew are safe on these sets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBuyers really want things good, fast, and cheaper, so Colombia becomes a very compelling proposition\u2014the numbers really pencil out there. But more importantly, the human capital makes a lot of sense in Colombia. The crews on both sides of the camera are incredible, and the crafts people there are really talented. And you know, as they say where I\u2019m from in Texas, if it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cColombia has a lot of texture, it has real atmospheres that don\u2019t feel generic and that matters for a film like this because you\u2019re really trying to build a world. It\u2019s not just a shark in the water, it\u2019s a prison, it\u2019s mythology, it\u2019s danger\u2026a whole environment that really needs to feel alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe producers alongside Chapa are Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier and Caleb Ward. Robert Mu\u00f1oz, Kristopher Wynne, Beltr\u00e1n and Solano serve as executive producers.<\/p>\n

\nHighland Film Group is handling worldwide sales, and the plan is for a theatrical release before it lands at a streaming platform. The original streams on Prime Video where it was No. 1 for the first week.<\/p>\n

Read more TV\u2019s \u2018Fall of Rome\u2019 Broken Down by Scott Free\u2019s David W. Zucker, Talking With \u2018Wednesday\u2019 Exec Producer Steve Stark at Italian Global Series Fest<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making sequel \u2018The Black Demon: Atlantis\u2019 in Colombia was a no-brainer, given that producer Mucho Mas Media had already shot three other movies there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3001,3002,3003,3004,3005],"class_list":["post-3647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-bogota-audiovisual-market","tag-highland-film-group","tag-jaguar-bite","tag-mucho-mas-media","tag-the-black-demon"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018The Black Demon: Atlantis\u2019: The Making of a Shark Thriller at 8,600 Feet Above Sea Level in Colombia - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3647\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018The Black Demon: Atlantis\u2019: The Making of a Shark Thriller at 8,600 Feet Above Sea Level in Colombia - 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