Satanic Hispanics - Review

Satanic Hispanics presents an interesting concept: a horror anthology from five of the most prominent Latin voices in the genre. With this setup, the filmmakers are able to use their cultural backgrounds and histories to craft a bevy of new, terrifying stories. The results are successful, for the most part, but Satanic Hispanics’ weak humor and mostly uninteresting framing device hold it back from being a must-watch.

That overarching story, directed by Mike Mendez, concerns The Traveler (Efren Ramirez, in a hamfisted performance), a mysterious being who pulls viewers into Satanic Hispanics’ world with little context. These segments sprinkle enticing breadcrumbs about the movie’s characters and the places they inhabit, but their pacing is bogged down – especially for a film that otherwise moves at a breakneck speed. They also fall prey to a classic anthology film trap: the thread stringing these disparate stories together isn’t strong enough to generate interest in its stakes. Satanic Hispanics is a hodgepodge of ideas that sound great on their own but feel weak when lumped together. By the end of The Traveler’s tale and the final reveal, I found myself mostly bored and had more questions than answers.

The highlight of Satanic Hispanics is Gigi Saul Guerrero’s contribution, “Nahuales.” Based on Mexican folklore, the story follows desperate-fugitive-turned-CIA-collaborator De La Cruz (Ari Gallegos) and his encounter with Mother (Gabriela Ruíz), an ancient shaman with terrifying abilities. “Nahuales'' is an intriguing story that asks the viewer who the true monsters are against a backdrop of real-world problems in modern-day Mexico – it’s tonally dark, and had me on edge until its final revelations. The segment also stands out for having the film’s strongest creature and gore effects, featuring some truly haunting and unnerving imagery. “Nahuales'' is the only part of Satanic Hispanics that fully understood the assignment of exposing audiences to Latin folklore in any meaningful way – it’s also the story most deserving of a feature-length spinoff.

That’s not to say that other sections of Satanic Hispanics are without their own merits. Directed by Demián Rugna and set in Argentina, “Tambien Lo Ve” has a spooky atmosphere, some great visuals, and an impressive number of scares within its brief runtime. “El Vampiro”, from director Eduardo Sánchez, is an extremely funny riff on vampire and Halloween tropes that provides a palate cleanser after the overly serious tones of “The Traveler” and “Tambien Lo Ve.” There’s a lot of comedic potential in the idea of an aging bloodsucker attempting to outrun the sunrise on the last night of October, and Sanchez takes full advantage of it.

But there’s a letdown in store in Alejandro Brugués’ “The Hammer of Zanzibar.” This segment attempts to bring an Evil Dead-style of humor and energy to Satanic Hispanics, but instead of it coming off as cool or hilarious, it’s grating and juvenile. “The Hammer of Zanzibar” seems to have only one joke up its sleeve, and it's at the expense of implied homosexuality and phallic imagery. The great creature effects and premise are undercut at nearly every turn by the gags, and the unveiling of the titular weapon is groan-inducing.

Unfortunately, Satanic Hispanics does little to set itself apart from other contemporary horror anthologies. While its premise is wholly original and the filmmakers’ intentions are noble, they fail to fulfill the promise of adapting Latin folklore and legends in any meaningful way. Instead, what we’re given is a solid if entirely forgettable entry in an infamously uneven subgenre – one that’s at least a good display for the filmmaking talents involved. The creatures and gore may be a good time in the moment, but they’re not enough to make Satanic Hispanics a Halloween perennial.