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Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with 5 Underrated Mexican Horror Films

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7 years ago

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This coming Friday is Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “5th of May”). The holiday originated as a celebration over the Mexican army winning an unlikely battle against the French on May 5th, 1862. According to Wikipedia, “In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico. In the U.S. the date has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture.” As horror fans we’re always looking for special occasions to dust off some old classics and celebrate. Who among us doesn’t watch Halloween every October or Silent Night, Deadly Night or Black Christmas come December 25th? Well, in honor of Cinco de Mayo I’ve gathered up 5 under-celebrated Mexican horror films for you to enjoy as you kick back and begin polishing off that pitcher of margarita.

‘Cemetery of Terror’ (1985)

Original Title: Cementerio del terror

Directed by Rubén Galindo Jr., Cemetery of Terror is a uber low budget affair. The story takes place on Halloween night and plays like a mashup of John Carpenter’s classic with dashes of Evil Dead and George Romero’s filmography thrown in for good measure. It centers around a satanic psycho who is gunned down by the police. His doctor is convinced the man isn’t truly dead and as soon as you can say “Dr. Loomis”, he’s off to make sure the crazed killer is put down for good. And wouldn’t you know it? A group of randy teens decide it’d be a fun Halloween prank to smuggle a corpse out of the local morgue. Which one do you think they choose?

Things escalate quickly as the kids wind up at a creepy old house and come into possession of a creepy old book and chant some creepy old words that manage to reanimate the hulking creeper. Multiple murder is on the menu for the evening and director, Galindo (remember that name for later), delivers a fast paced, gory effects laden thrill ride. The plot quickly progresses from unstoppable Michael Myers-esque stalk n’ slash to hordes of the living dead rising from their graves to join in on the carnage. Cemetery of Terror is the perfect silly B movie to enjoy with a group of friends.

‘Alucarda’ (1978)

Original Title: Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas

A hysterical performance from Tina Romero in the title role of Alucarda (film pictured at the top of the article) helps elevate this tale of demonic possession taking control of a convent in the 1800’s. Alucarda is born under dire circumstances, orphaned, and sent to live under the care of nuns with a penchant for self-flagellation. There she meets the alluring Justine. They’re instantly drawn together and become inseparable, eventually bonding themselves to one another…and Satan, of course. Alucarda’s mission is simple: corrupt and destroy as many souls for “her master” as possible.

The film is certainly not for everyone. Despite overflowing with buckets of blood, nudity, and a general sense of unease, the film does slightly overstay its brief 75-minute runtime. Alucarda remains worth seeking out for fans of 70’s satanic panic films. The production design of the cavernous monastery is a gothic masterpiece. The demonic sound design of otherworldly growls and moans create a pervasive sense of unease, while certain images are bold enough to linger in one’s brain long after the credits have rolled. Ultimately with subject matter ranging from religious hysterics, science vs faith, and lesbianism, it’s easy to see how this film has carved itself a place in Mexican cult movie history.

‘Cronos’ (1992)

Guillermo del Toro is most certainly not an “under-celebrated” name. The Mexican director has been behind the camera for some of the biggest (Blade 2, Hellboy) and best (Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak) genre films of the past 20 years. I’d easily place him in my top 5 favorite directors of all time and hands down my most favorite modern director. His first feature film, Cronos, still lacks the audience it truly deserves, however. If you’ve ever enjoyed any of the master’s work, I implore you to seek this film out. You won’t be disappointed.

In true del Toro fashion, Cronos is a dark modern day fairy tale that deals with love, loss, and vampirism. Most of the stylistic traits we’ve become accustomed to can be traced back to this debut. The cinematography, story, production design are authentically del Toro. The film even marked the first time the director would work with frequent collaborator, Ron Perlman. In order to bring his vision to life, del Toro actually created his own special effects company as he felt there was no other shop in Mexico that can handle what he’d envisioned. His thumbprint is on every frame of this movie.

The story revolves around the “Cronos device”, a golden mechanical beetle-thing that has the ability to grant its owner youth and eternal life. It’s sting, naturally, comes with a few adverse side effects as well. An aging antique dealer and his granddaughter are roped into its bloody path and discover there are those who will stop at nothing to make the Cronos their own. It truly is one of the best films, not just of del Toro’s filmography – but in general. Seek out the splendid Criterion release pronto.

‘The Witch’s Mirror’ (1962)

Original Title: El Espejo de la bruja

The Witch’s Mirror is a lost classic that went fairly unknown until a stellar release on DVD several years ago brought it into the light. Thankfully, cinephiles were able to finally discover this gem and relish in its bizarre delights. The tale is similar to that of Eyes Without a Face but with a supernatural twist. A witch concerned her god-daughter may be harmed by her conniving scientist husband, enchants a mirror to protect her. The louse eventually gets away with murder only to pay the consequences much later.

When his newer, younger bride becomes terribly burned in a fire, the mad doctor sets about grafting new skin on her body with parts stolen from the dead. Things don’t go so well from there as the witch begins aiding the ghost of the man’s dead wife in seeking revenge on the newly married couple. The film is a delightful gothic horror that brings to mind the stylish early work of Mario Bava. Despite being filmed in 1960 and not released until 63′, The Witch’s Mirror is surprisingly gory with some truly inventive effects work for the time.

‘Grave Robbers’ (1989)

Original Title: Ladrones de tumbas

Rubén Galindo Jr.’s third horror film (the second being the Nightmare on Elm Street riff, Don’t Panic) is very much in the same vein as Cemetery of Terror. Instead of Halloween and Evil Dead, we basically get Galindo’s Jason Voorhees, except way more insane than anything the Crystal Lake stalker ever accomplished. Grave Robbers opens with a group of punks out to make a quick buck by ransacking an ancient tomb. They accidentally awaken another satanic madman (this one’s a monk) with more than just death on his mind.

This film is wild! There are some truly jaw-dropping effects as the killer proves he’s not simply beholden to swinging his giant, jewel-encrusted axe to slay teens. This really is one of the best little-known slashers of the 80’s. What’s even better is for those completist out there wanting to track it down, it’s available on DVD as a double bill with none other than Cemetery of Terror! Have I helped plan your Friday night or what?!

What are some of your favorite horror flicks from south of the border? Sound off below! Be safe and have yourself a happy Cinco de Mayo!

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Editorials

‘A Haunted House’ and the Death of the Horror Spoof Movie

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1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

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Due to a complex series of anthropological mishaps, the Wayans Brothers are a huge deal in Brazil. Around these parts, White Chicks is considered a national treasure by a lot of people, so it stands to reason that Brazilian audiences would continue to accompany the Wayans’ comedic output long after North America had stopped taking them seriously as comedic titans.

This is the only reason why I originally watched Michael Tiddes and Marlon Wayans’ 2013 horror spoof A Haunted House – appropriately known as “Paranormal Inactivity” in South America – despite having abandoned this kind of movie shortly after the excellent Scary Movie 3. However, to my complete and utter amazement, I found myself mostly enjoying this unhinged parody of Found Footage films almost as much as the iconic spoofs that spear-headed the genre during the 2000s. And with Paramount having recently announced a reboot of the Scary Movie franchise, I think this is the perfect time to revisit the divisive humor of A Haunted House and maybe figure out why this kind of film hasn’t been popular in a long time.

Before we had memes and internet personalities to make fun of movie tropes for free on the internet, parody movies had been entertaining audiences with meta-humor since the very dawn of cinema. And since the genre attracted large audiences without the need for a serious budget, it made sense for studios to encourage parodies of their own productions – which is precisely what happened with Miramax when they commissioned a parody of the Scream franchise, the original Scary Movie.

The unprecedented success of the spoof (especially overseas) led to a series of sequels, spin-offs and rip-offs that came along throughout the 2000s. While some of these were still quite funny (I have a soft spot for 2008’s Superhero Movie), they ended up flooding the market much like the Guitar Hero games that plagued video game stores during that same timeframe.

You could really confuse someone by editing this scene into Paranormal Activity.

Of course, that didn’t stop Tiddes and Marlon Wayans from wanting to make another spoof meant to lampoon a sub-genre that had been mostly overlooked by the Scary Movie series – namely the second wave of Found Footage films inspired by Paranormal Activity. Wayans actually had an easier time than usual funding the picture due to the project’s Found Footage presentation, with the format allowing for a lower budget without compromising box office appeal.

In the finished film, we’re presented with supposedly real footage recovered from the home of Malcom Johnson (Wayans). The recordings themselves depict a series of unexplainable events that begin to plague his home when Kisha Davis (Essence Atkins) decides to move in, with the couple slowly realizing that the difficulties of a shared life are no match for demonic shenanigans.

In practice, this means that viewers are subjected to a series of familiar scares subverted by wacky hijinks, with the flick featuring everything from a humorous recreation of the iconic fan-camera from Paranormal Activity 3 to bizarre dance numbers replacing Katy’s late-night trances from Oren Peli’s original movie.

Your enjoyment of these antics will obviously depend on how accepting you are of Wayans’ patented brand of crass comedy. From advanced potty humor to some exaggerated racial commentary – including a clever moment where Malcom actually attempts to move out of the titular haunted house because he’s not white enough to deal with the haunting – it’s not all that surprising that the flick wound up with a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes despite making a killing at the box office.

However, while this isn’t my preferred kind of humor, I think the inherent limitations of Found Footage ended up curtailing the usual excesses present in this kind of parody, with the filmmakers being forced to focus on character-based comedy and a smaller scale story. This is why I mostly appreciate the love-hate rapport between Kisha and Malcom even if it wouldn’t translate to a healthy relationship in real life.

Of course, the jokes themselves can also be pretty entertaining on their own, with cartoony gags like the ghost getting high with the protagonists (complete with smoke-filled invisible lungs) and a series of silly The Exorcist homages towards the end of the movie. The major issue here is that these legitimately funny and genre-specific jokes are often accompanied by repetitive attempts at low-brow humor that you could find in any other cheap comedy.

Not a good idea.

Not only are some of these painfully drawn out “jokes” incredibly unfunny, but they can also be remarkably offensive in some cases. There are some pretty insensitive allusions to sexual assault here, as well as a collection of secondary characters defined by negative racial stereotypes (even though I chuckled heartily when the Latina maid was revealed to have been faking her poor English the entire time).

Cinephiles often claim that increasingly sloppy writing led to audiences giving up on spoof movies, but the fact is that many of the more beloved examples of the genre contain some of the same issues as later films like A Haunted House – it’s just that we as an audience have (mostly) grown up and are now demanding more from our comedy. However, this isn’t the case everywhere, as – much like the Elves from Lord of the Rings – spoof movies never really died, they simply diminished.

A Haunted House made so much money that they immediately started working on a second one that released the following year (to even worse reviews), and the same team would later collaborate once again on yet another spoof, 50 Shades of Black. This kind of film clearly still exists and still makes a lot of money (especially here in Brazil), they just don’t have the same cultural impact that they used to in a pre-social-media-humor world.

At the end of the day, A Haunted House is no comedic masterpiece, failing to live up to the laugh-out-loud thrills of films like Scary Movie 3, but it’s also not the trainwreck that most critics made it out to be back in 2013. Comedy is extremely subjective, and while the raunchy humor behind this flick definitely isn’t for everyone, I still think that this satirical romp is mostly harmless fun that might entertain Found Footage fans that don’t take themselves too seriously.

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