Satanic Hispanics (2022)


It is a good chunk of the world - an even bigger chunk of the western hemisphere - but Latin America tends to be ignored by the non-Spanish-speaking world.  Culturally, and ethnically, Mexico on down is just as diverse as the United States or Canada.  Each country has its own endemic music industry, and the larger ones significant film industries.  Granted, horror films often were not a staple of most of these countries, but it is where I concentrate a lot of my viewing.  It has been interesting to finally see a surge of movies from a previously marginalized creative pool.

The police arrest a man that calls himself El Viajero, or The Traveler (Efren Ramirez).  Detectives Arden (Greg Grunberg) and Gibbons (Sonya Eddy) try to find out who he is and what happened at a drug house where he was the lone survivor.  He warns them that they need to let him go or they will die.  They don't believe him, so he proceeds to tell them a series of stories to prove who he is.  The first is "Tambien Lo Vi", about a man named Gustavo (Demián Salomón) who is seeing weird things in his house and calls an investigator (Luis Machin) to figure out what it is.  Next is "El Vampiro", about an elderly vampire (Hemky Madera) who doesn't realize that Daylight Saving Time has begun and he is now an hour late getting back to his coffin.

After that is "Nahuales", in which a man named De la Cruz (Ari Gallegos) seeks extradition to the U.S. to protect him from his country's dictator, only to fall prey to shapeshifting creatures who believe he has abused the power he was granted by them.  The last story before returning to the wraparound is "The Hammer of Zanzibar", in which the lone survivor of a series of demon possessions wields a unique weapon to save himself.  Finally, The Traveler's tale winds down with the arrival of San La Muerte, who is willing to destroy anyone in its path to claim The Traveler's soul. 

The main reason I watched this was to see a little bit more from Argentinian director Démian Rugna, the man behind When Evil Lurks and Terrified.  His segment, "Tambien Lo Vi", didn't disappoint, but Eduardo Sánchez's "El Vampiro" turned out to be my favorite.  It's a perfect blend of horror and comedy, much better than his most famous film, The Blair Witch Project.  It has me interested in seeing some of what he has done since.  It turns out he has some skill as a director and not at just pulling off a publicity stunt. 

My second favorite is the ending of the wraparound with "San La Muerte".  The creature itself is well done, as is its attack on the police station where The Traveler is being held.  I just wish there had been more buildup to this, and that is my main complaint.  'The Traveler" itself is built up well by director Mike Mendez, and Alejandro Brugués sticks the ending.  However, as the story plays out, the other stories don't connect.  Most of them are good, except for "The Hammer of Zanzibar" which is just childish, but none have the underlying theme of San La Muerte, and none of it has to do with "portals" or other dimensions or anything The Traveler speaks of in his interrogation.  It's just a normal anthology of horror tales.

That said, it is above average for most these days, and while it does have a direct-to-streaming feel in places it doesn't feel as cheap as some Shudder productions.  If anything, it makes one want to check out other works by these same filmmakers that may be much, much better. 

Satanic Hispanics (2022)
Time: 112 minutes
Starring: Efran Ramirez, Sonya Eddy, Greg Grunberg, Demián Salomón, Hemky Madera, Victoria Maurette, Ari Gallegos, Gabriela Ruíz, Jonah Ray, Danielle Chavez
Directors: Mike Mendez, Demián Rugna, Eduardo Sánchez, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Alejandro Brugués

 

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