From his love for horror and his journey to an unknown place, Kelvin Alvarez’s story is one of passion, determination, and sharing his voice in a new environment.

“The experience of moving was very hard because we started from scratch…we started a new life. It was hard at first but with time everything calmed down. I hope that in the future everything will be fine and better” said Alvarez, a Hillsborough High School Junior who moved to this town less than a year ago from Guayaquil, the capital of his native country, Ecuador. 

Recently Kelvin, who is a native Spanish speaker, was given the opportunity to share one of his hobbies with his ESL class to practice his English and do something fun during the Halloween week. He presented a horror movie slideshow that recapped all his favorite films: “Child’s Play,” “The Conjuring,” “Eat,” “The Nun,” and “Insidious.” 

“I recommend these movies because they are based on real events and the plots are very good,” Alvarez said. For those interested in knowing more about Kelvin’s favorite movies, here is how he describes the plot of each one:

• “Child’s Play” – “’Chucky’ is centered on black humor and mostly funny murders since the doll has been possessed by a human spirit called Charlie and with the help of Dan Vela he can transfer his soul to a doll that will stalk many people.”
• “The Conjuring” – “‘The Conjuring’” is based on real-life cases of the couple Lorraine and Ed Warren that are based on supernatural things about spirits, since Lorraine is a psychic.”
• “Eat” – “It is a spirit that comes to Earth and returns every so often. He feeds on fear and killing people, but a group of kids have been stalked by this spirit. They try not to get killed and they try to kill the clown (the spirit).”
• “The Nun” – “‘The Nun’ is based on true events that a spirit Valek transfers into a nun to stalk people and find a person who can serve as a vessel to do evil in the world, but it reaches the ears of a monastery and they send a priest and a girl who wants to become a nun. They try everything possible to try to return Valek to hell.”
• “Insidious” – “The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a coma and becomes a ‘vessel for ghosts’ who want to inhabit his body in an astral dimension.”

While Kelvin described each of his five favorite horror movies, his affection for them was unmistakable. When asked what inspired his love for horror movies, he had quite the unique answer. He explained how his family has experienced paranormal situations for a lot of his life, which sparked a fascination within him for the supernatural.

Through the interview it was clear to see that even though Kelvin is not fluent in English yet, he makes a dedicated effort to communicate with those around him. Anyone who talks with him (sometimes with a little help from google translate) can recognize that he is a kind and genuine person. He said that he is thankful for his parents who taught him the values that have helped him remain especially optimistic during this life-altering journey. 

As a parting message, Kelvin shared a heartfelt message in his native language: “Espero que a todos les parezca divertido las película de terror tanto como a mi” which translates to, “I hope everyone finds horror movies as fun as I do.”