Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023)

“Miles, being Spider-Man is a sacrifice.”

2018’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse set the bar extremely high for any and every Spider-Man film that would follow it. That movie is, at least in my opinion, the best Spider-Man movie ever made. When I finally had the chance to see Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, my expectations were high, very high.

The film continues the story that began in Into The Spider-Verse but opens with a look at Spider-Gwen’s story and the introduction of the Spider-Society first. The Spider-Society is a collective group of Spider-People who work across multiple universes in order to keep all of the worlds in check. For reasons later revealed in the film, Miles Morales is not welcome in the group. When Gwen arrives in Miles’ universe to track the Spot, a troublesome villain with plans of his own, she catches up with Miles but he believes that she’s hiding something from him. When it is time for her to leave Miles’ world, he follows her to another universe where the Spot is attempting to absorb the power of that universe’s Alchemax collider. Miles steps in and prevents a “canon event” from occurring and becomes a hunted spider by the Spider-Society. Can Miles save his world and everybody else’s worlds? What happens when canon events are disrupted? Who is the mysterious Spider-Man 2099? Find out everything in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.

I really enjoyed this film. It is book-ended by two somewhat lengthy (and a tad boring) sequences that seem as if they are too caught up in wowing the audience with art instead of moving the narrative ahead, but the middle of the film is simply amazing. All of the core original cast return and new additions such as Oscar Isaac (Spider-Man 2099), Jorma Taccone (Renaissance Vulture), Jason Schwartzman (The Spot), and Amandla Stenberg (Spider-Byte) give amazing performances. There are a ton of Spider-People and Spider-Beings in this film, far too many to list voice credits for, but know that they are all wonderful in this movie. The true star of the film in my opinion is Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar/Spider-Man India. He stole all of the scenes that he appeared in and gave the most memorable and humorous performance. I hope that we see him again in the planned sequel expected to release in March of 2024.

The animation and visuals, some of which combined animated and live action sequences, were beautiful. Unlike the first film, however, I felt as if some moments were tossed in simply to visually stun the audience and these moments took away from the overall film in my opinion. It was certainly a beautiful movie and I will definitely buy it when it comes out on Blu-ray, but it isn’t quite as good as the original film.

Disney could learn a thing or two from Sony’s animated Spider-Man films. NOTHING Disney has cranked out since the beginning of the MCU comes even close to the original Spider-Verse film or Across The Spider-Verse. These films are beautiful, funny, and a pure joy to watch on the big screen. Check this one out!

Thanks for reading my post. More stuff to come very soon!

Classic Cinema: The Mole People (1956)

“Their eyes can’t tolerate the light!”

The 1950s were a time of change for horror films. Science fiction began to make its way into more and more horror movies of the period. Aliens, mutants, and giant monsters started replacing vampires and werewolves as the go-to monsters of the day. The Atomic Age brought us films like Them!, Godzilla, and The Day The Earth Stood Still. Even the Universal Monsters were transforming from mummies and invisible men into The Creature From The Black Lagoon and the Metaluna Mutants of This Island Earth. Almost all of these films were produced with low budgets, and only a few were very good films overall. 1956’s The Mole People was one such film.

Although it is sometimes packaged and promoted as a Universal Monsters film, The Mole People seems to be best looked at as a science film. It tells the story of a group of archaeologists uncovering ancient Sumerian tablets that speak of a cult of Ishtar. When a massive earthquake strikes their dig site, they venture up into the mountains in order to find out if more proof of the Sumerians exists. What they find is an underground world featuring a race of albino Sumerians that have enslaved subterranean Mole people that harvest mushrooms for them to eat. The three archaeologists that discover the race, Bentley, Bellamin, and Lafarge, are initially believed to be messengers of Ishtar since they have control of Ishtar’s flame (a flashlight). When it is discovered that they are mortal, a conniving high priest, Elinu, plans to steal the flashlight for himself and overthrow the Sumerian king. Standing in his way are Bentley and Bellamin, as well as their newfound friend, the beautiful Adad, and the Mole people. Watch The Mole People to see who comes out victorious!

The movie stars John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier, Nestor Paiva, and a whole bunch of nameless Mole people. Agar, who had a troubled life that saw him relegated to B-movies for most of the latter part of his career, does a fine job as Bentley. Hugh Beaumont works well as his sidekick, Dr. Bellamin. Nestor Paiva has a somewhat limited role as Professor Lafarge, but his character is crucial to the story. Adad, a Sumerian slave, is portrayed by Cynthia Patrick. She’s a tragic character in the film and one of the primary reasons that this film’s conclusion left a sour taste in the mouths of filmgoers. Alan Napier, perhaps best known as Alfred the butler from the 1960’s Batman TV show, does an amazing job as Elinu. He’s sinister. The Mole people aren’t monsters at all. They are simply trying to survive in a cruel environment. The real monsters in this film are the Sumerians.

The film does have a rather interesting opening sequence. In it, real world English professor Frank Baxter of the University of Southern California gives us a quick lesson on a number of hollow earth theories. From there, it turns into just another 50’s sci-fi flick, albeit with above average special effects for the time. It’s a fun film to watch, and I even own it on Blu-ray.

The Mole People is a perfect example of the changing times not only for Universal, but for the world as a whole. If for no other reason, give it a look for its cheesy goodness. I think that you’ll enjoy it.

Thanks for checking out my post. Seeing John Agar’s name pop up reminded me of Dinosaur World, a defunct dinosaur park in Beaver, Arkansas, that my family visited a number of times in the early 1980s. I might have to take a look at that place in an upcoming Throwback Thursday post. See you all soon!

Throwback Thursday: Reign Of Fire (2002)

“Keep both eyes on the sky.”

Batman, Wooderson, a Bond Girl, King Leonidas, Dr. Bashir, the Borg Queen, and Joffrey Baratheon walk into a post-apocalyptic world ruled by dragons…..Sounds like a bad joke, right? Well, in 2002’s Reign of Fire, that’s exactly what happened. Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Izabella Scorupco, Gerard Butler, Alexander Siddig, Alice Krige, and Jack Gleeson all appear in the film to varying degrees, with Bale, McConaughey, and Scorupco taking the spotlight for most of the film. The movie asks the question, “What would happen if dragons took over the modern world?” A bigger question for me is, “What did I just watch?”

Don’t get me wrong, there are some genuinely excellent moments in Reign Of Fire, but they are just too few and far between. In the film, the year is 2020 and the world has been completely devastated by dragons and man’s attempts to stop them. Bale stars as Quinn Abercromby who, as a child, witnesses the moment that the dragon uprising begins and, as a man, is the leader of a ragtag bunch of survivors living outside of London hoping to outlive the rule of dragons. Helping Quinn is Creedy (Butler), who is second in command at the survivor compound. He provides almost all of the film’s humor. Siddig plays Ajay, the compound’s communications guy, who listens for radio contact with other survivors. When a massive military unit shows up at the compound’s door, a struggle for command and sanity develops between Quinn and American dragon hunter and ex-military man, Denton Van Zan (McConaughey), who believes that taking down the lone bull dragon encamped in London will ultimately lead to the die out of the female dragons that are terrorizing the world. Assisting Van Zan is Alex Jensen (Scorupco), the helicopter pilot who gives Van Zan eyes in the sky. She also heads up the Archangels, an elite group of dragon killers that assist Van Zan. After a huge battle for control, Van Zan leads a group on a failed mission to kill the bull dragon. He and Quinn eventually put their differences aside and, along with Jensen, go on a suicide mission to kill the bull dragon. Do they kill the big, bad bull? Watch Reign Of Fire to find out!

I had absolutely zero desire to watch this film when it was first released. Apparently I wasn’t the only person who felt that way, as the film fared poorly in theaters. For whatever reason, I decided to give it a try over twenty years later. It’s premise is farfetched, but that’s nothing new for me. I’m used to farfetched films. What I couldn’t buy in this movie was McConaughey in the “tough guy” role. His entire performance felt forced and too over-the-top. Scorupco just appeared to be going through the motions. Bale came off as an actor hoping that his performance would distract viewers from the poor performances of the rest of the cast. Butler was actually the best thing in this film. His performance fit the goofiness of the plot and I actually cared about his character. Alice Krige has little more than a cameo as Quinn’s mother. Gleeson portrayed one of the colony’s children. While his role was small, he had one moment where the camera focused on the desperation in his eyes. He knocked that brief moment out of the park. Siddig was fine in his limited role and most of the rest of the cast was just okay.

The special effects were well done in my opinion. I’ve read other reviews of this film stating that it was superior to Jurassic Park (1993) as far as CGI goes and those folks are completely wrong. The effects are very good, but nowhere near the level of JP. Many of the effects were hidden by the film’s dark setting. The dark color of the dragons also helped hide any shortcomings.

Ultimately, Reign Of Fire is a rather bland popcorn flick featuring an amazing set of actors, most of which give a mediocre performance in the film. McConaughey is one of my favorite actors but he is terribly miscast in this film. Bale looked as if he knew he was in a dull film. Butler is the real hero of this flick in my opinion. Do I recommend it? Yeah, why not? There are much worse films out there.

Thanks for checking out my look at Reign Of Fire. Do you share my opinion of the film? Let me know in the comments section!

The Champion Collection From Spin Master: Nasus, League Of Legends (2023)

“Your legacy shall drift away, blown into eternity, like the sands of the desert.”

Spin Master has released a number of League of Legends figures based upon characters from the popular PC game over the last couple of years. I was recently given the opportunity to review one of these figures and jumped at the chance. I was asked to review Nasus, and I happily complied.

In all honesty, I’ve never played League of Legends and my knowledge of the game begins and ends with Jinx. I know that she is a popular character in the game and that I’ve seen a number of cosplayers dressed as her at multiple conventions. I’ll provide proof of this at the end of this blog. With my knowledge established, here’s what I want to say about Nasus: He’s awesome!

Nasus towers over all of my Marvel Legends 6″ figures and makes my McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse 7″ figures nervous with his 8″ stature. I count at least twenty-five points of articulation and only his feet and hands are hindered slightly by the armor that he wears. The figure comes with his War Axe and a League of Legends base that makes him suitable for display.

It’s pretty obvious that Nasus is based upon the Egyptian guide and guardian of the Underworld, Anubis. That’s the primary reason that I agreed to review this figure. He looks great. His paint applications are amazing and the details in his skin, armor, and face are great. I found only two issues with this particular figure. First, his knee joints are a tad weak and he doesn’t hold poses in which he is crouching for long periods of time without the assistance of his axe. I posed him crouching down one afternoon and he fell the next morning. I’ve since settled upon posing him standing up straight. Secondly, the pain apps on his axe included a couple of splotches. That’s my only complaints, however. The figure is ultimately a beautiful addition to my collection. He’ll be a great addition to your collection as well!

Thanks for checking out my post. Spin Master really did an awesome job with this figure. Oh, and I promised to show you proof that I’ve run into a number of Jinx cosplayers over the years at conventions. Well, below is a photo of myself and Currytime Cosplay as Jinx from CoastCon 38 way back in 2015!

65 (2023)

“Family….”

I remember seeing trailers for the Adam Driver epic 65. I even remember seeing posters for the film while checking out other movies at the theater. What I don’t remember about the film is people talking about it once it was released. This film just sort of arrived and then quietly exited theaters with little impact. That’s a great shame, at least in my opinion, because I believe that 65 is much better than it it given credit for in the grand scheme of things.

In the film, Adam Driver portrays Mills, a pilot who takes a job on a two-year journey that will bring in three times his normal wages. He takes the job in the hopes that the extra cash can be used to help Nevine, his daughter, who is suffering from an undisclosed illness. While en route to his destination and carrying a number of people in cryostasis with him, Mills’ ship is severely damaged by an uncharted asteroid field and crashes on an unknown planet which is ultimately revealed to be Earth, circa sixty-five million years ago. Only one other person survives the crash, a young girl named Koa. With the ship’s translator destroyed in the crash, Mills tries to communicate with Koa and ultimately convinces her to trust and follow him as they look for the lone surviving escape pod. As they journey towards the pod, they encounter dinosaurs, poison plants, geysers, and other unknown dangers. Watch the film to find out if they escape!

I really enjoyed this film. Most filmgoers did not, nor did most critics. Complaints ranged from the film being boring and sluggish to having a completely unbelievable and ridiculous plot. While I have to admit that part of the film’s premise seems to be built solely for the purpose of giving Adam Driver a chance to fight dinosaurs, I cannot agree with the complaints that say the film is boring. It’s meant to make the viewer engage in the father/daughter relationship that develops between Mills and Koa. You have to pay attention, and I believe that attention spans have evolved to such a massive level of instant gratification these days that any time a film asks you to sit back and wait a little bit for things to develop, they lose out with modern audiences. This film is suspenseful, spooky, and heart-tugging at times. If you are a dad who has ever given up anything in the hopes of making life better for your kids, this film will definitely hit you in the heart.

The film’s special effects are excellent for the most part, as is the music done by Chris Bacon. Driver and young Ariana Greenblatt (Koa) do amazing jobs in their respective roles. Their characters bond out of necessity at first but gradually become a father/daughter duo. Mills lies to Koa at one point and when she discovers the truth, the heartbreak experienced by both really hits hard. Chloe Coleman has a small role as Mills’ daughter, Nevine, as does Nika King who portrays Mills’ wife. That’s pretty much it. The film is carried on the shoulders of Driver and Greenblatt, and they do excellent jobs.

65 is currently available to stream on Netflix and I highly recommend checking it out. If you don’t like it, you can simply switch over to something else. That said, give the film a chance and give it some time, especially if you are a father. This film is better than the critics and much of the viewing audience claims. Check it out.

Thanks for checking out my post. I have a ton of things coming up in the near future including Calcasieu SerialFest, the Houston Horror Film Festival, and a couple of action figure reviews. Be on the lookout for posts on all of these things and more!

Frankford Candy Jurassic World Surprise Egg

“Think it will scare the kids?”

Frankford Candy released their Jurassic World Surprise Eggs in 2022 in conjunction with the release of Jurassic World: Dominion. For whatever reason, I only discovered them over the weekend and I must say, for the price, they are actually pretty cool. You get a nice sized egg (complete with Beta hatching out of it), two packs of gummy dinosaurs, and a hefty collector coin.

The coins are heavy and feature a dinosaur sticker on one side and a relief logo for Jurassic World on the back. There are twenty-one coins in total to collect, with two of them being rare and a third listed as “super” rare. For around three bucks apiece, it will cost you roughly sixty-three dollars to collect them all. That’s only if you don’t get any doubles. I still believe it’s worth purchasing one or two if you’re a fan of Jurassic World or Jurassic Park. Snap up a few of these coins for your collection. The gummies are okay, but the eggs and coins are cool.

Thanks for checking out this quick post. More Jurassic goodness coming later this year!

Classic Cinema: Queen Of The Amazons (1947)

“Just What Are They Afraid Of?”

The jungle adventure genre is almost as old as film itself. Many early mass-distributed films took place in the jungle. Tarzan Of The Apes (1918), King Kong (1933), and The King Of The Kongo (1929) are all examples of early popular jungle adventure films. The genre’s popularity has waxed and waned over the years but has been a mainstay for over a century. It has also combined with other genres to give us popular films like Predator (1987) and Jurassic Park (1993). One subgenre that flourished for many years was the “Jungle Girl” or “Jungle Woman” subgenre. Films that fall into this category include Sheena (1984), Gungala, The Black Panther Girl (1968), and The Savage Girl (1932). Many films in this subgenre were exploitation films, but a few were actual adventure films that featured strong female leads. One of those films is 1947’s Queen Of The Amazons.

The movie tells the tale of a young woman, Jean Preston, who goes on an expedition in the African jungles in order to discover the fate of her lost fiancee, Greg Jones, and the other members of his own expedition. Leading the way is Gary Lambert, a chauvinistic guide who has ulterior motives for guiding Preston’s group. Also joining the group, unbeknownst to the others, is a murderer who is trying to prevent the caravan from discovering a dark secret involving the ivory trade. Will Jean find Greg? Will Gary have a change of heart about women? Just who in the heck is the queen????? Find out in Queen of the Amazons!

The film starred Patricia Morison (billed as Patricia Morrison) as Jean, Robert Lowery as Gary, Bruce Edwards as Greg Jones, J. Edward Bromberg as Gabby the cook, and Amira Moustafa as Zita, the Amazon Queen. The film also starred Wilson Benge, Keith Richards (not THAT Keith Richards), and John Miljan (who also narrated the film). Of special note is Cay Forester. She portrayed Zita’s right hand woman, Sugi.

The film is just okay. It blazes no new trails in the jungle adventure genre. It’s pretty much a run-of-the-mill jungle film full of sequences of dialogue and action with a ton of stock animal and tribal footage laced in between. Morrison’s Jean is a strong female lead, as is Moustafa’s Zita. Ultimately I believe that Sugi (Forester) should be the queen of the Amazons, however, because she’s pretty much the only lady of action when things go south in the film.

Thanks for checking out Queen Of The Amazons with me. If you’ve seen it, let me know what you think about it in the comments section. I’ve got a special Jurassic Park post coming very soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. Also, Calcasieu Serialfest is coming up at the end of this month and the Houston Horror Film Festival is next month! I’ll be attending both, so let me know if you’ll be going as well so that we can meet up with one another!

Classic Cinema: A Fool There Was (1915)

“Kiss me, my fool!”

Not to be confused with the 1922 silent film of the same name and based upon the same play, 1915’s A Fool There Was is a crucial piece of cinematic history. It is the first starring role for Theda Bara, the woman that most cinephiles consider to be the first cinematic femme fatale, and is also believed to be the source for the term vamp, which is a shortened version of The Vampire, the name of Bara’s character in the film. It also features a very important plot point which I’ll talk about later in this post as it is a spoiler.

In the silent film, a wealthy lawyer billed as John Schuyler, The Husband, is selected to be a diplomat in England. When his wife and daughter must stay behind to take care of his ill sister-in-law, Schuyler is seduced by The Vampire, a woman who charms successful men, enjoys all of their riches, and then leaves them in ruins. She’s fresh off of her last victim, who commits suicide on the deck of the cruise ship headed for England. She nonchalantly tells a crew member to clean up the “mess” of the poor man and then pursues Schuyler. Schuyler falls hard for the Vampire and, despite multiple letters and telegrams, refuses to return to his family. His torrid affair causes an international scandal and he is relieved of his duties. He returns to the United States with the Vampire, who has drained him of his money and his sanity. Can his wife and daughter win him back? What will happen to the Vampire? Watch A Fool There Was and find out!

Bara was simply amazing as The Vampire. She was seductive and beautiful, but sinister and funny at the same time. It’s easy to see why she became a massive silent film star based upon her performance in this film. Edward Jose portrayed Schuyler, and his spiral into foolish lust and, ultimately, total insanity is played with perfection. Mabel Frenyear portrayed The Wife and Runa Hodges played The Daughter. Both of them did excellent jobs. The cast was rounded out by Victor Benoit as One Of The Victims, Clifford Bruce as The Friend, and Minna Gale as The Doctor’s Fiancee. The Doctor was portrayed by Frank Powell. He also wrote the screen adaptation of the original Porter Emerson Browne play that the film is based upon and is often credited as the person that discovered Theda Bara and launched her career. This is also the film debut of May Allison. She portrayed The Wife’s Sister and eventually became a massively popular silent film star in her own right.

Spoiler Alert!!!!! Skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know how the film ends!!!

As mentioned earlier, A Fool There Was is important for a number of reasons. It launched Bara’s career, making her one of the earliest, if not the first, cinematic femme fatale. It also introduced the term “vamp” to describe a woman of questionable morals who bleeds successful men dry. Finally, it’s important due to the fact that the film ends on a sour note. Much like when the Empire wins at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, the Vamp (Bara) walks away from the Schuyler situation completely unscathed, ready to find and seduce her next victim. Schuyler is reunited with his family, but only long enough for them to watch him die a complete wreck. It’s a sad ending to a sad film, and it’s definitely worth checking out. Runa Hodges deserves accolades for her gripping performance as the Daughter as she cries for her father to return and he ignores her by literally turning away from her and looking in the opposite direction as she continues to beg him to come home. It’s an excellent scene and perhaps the best one in the film.

Producer William Fox and writer/actor Frank Powell knew what they had with Bara, and had her appear in a number of publicity shots for the film. In the photos, Bara is scantily clad and shown in a number of poses with a human skeleton. These promotional photos increased interest in the film and in Bara. Fox and Powell also released a fake biography about Bara, claiming that she was an Arabian dancer and a woman full of exotic desires. This fake biography and the photos cemented her place as one of the first sex symbols in film.

One of the promotional shots for A Fool There Was featuring Theda Bara with a skeleton.

I hope that you enjoyed this look back at one of cinema’s most important silent films. Sadly, only six of Theda Bara’s films are known to still be in existence. She appeared in over forty films, most of which were filmed and released between 1915 and 1921. Her final appearance was in the 1926 short, Madame Mystery. Her final full-length feature appearance was in 1925’s The Unchastened Woman.

Thanks for checking out my post! Later this month I’ll be attending Calcasieu Serialfest in Sulphur, LA. Hopefully you will be able to join me at this FREE event!

Outpost: Top Notch Hamburgers

7525 Burnet Rd, Austin, Texas

As I’ve said many, many times over the year, Dazed And Confused is one of my favorite films. From Wooderson and Cynthia to Pink and Jodi, I love all of the characters in the movie. I love the music, the style, and the overall feel of this movie. It is both a true American classic and a uniquely Austin film. One of the things that I love the most about this flick is the fact that many of the locations still exist and can be visited. I recently visited Austin to catch up with some family and to seek out some of the film’s locations.

Initially, my plan was to visit as many of the film’s locations as possible while visiting Austin. Time and my work had other plans, however, and I had to pick one location to check out. That location was a no-brainer. I had to go to Top Notch and eat a cheeseburger!

My primary reason for visiting Top Notch was to see a part of Dazed And Confused history and I was not disappointed. Originally opened in 1971, the restaurant has changed very little over the years. The dining room and counter are sealed in the 1970s. Heck, even the bathroom, with its wood paneling and single light fixture, screams 1970s. The old Top Notch sign still pierces the night sky with promises of great food and memories. It’s perfect and I absolutely loved it.

My secondary reason for checking out Top Notch was the food. I had a #2 cheeseburger combo. It was excellent. It had great flavor and just enough grease to appease my belly. Some of my relatives chose to eat fried chicken and it looked amazing. I plan on having it on my next trip to Austin.

Melvin’s “Soul Pole” paddle and O’Bannion’s “FAHQ” paddle along with other film paraphernalia and a VHS of the film.

There was a shadowbox with Melvin and O’Bannion’s paddles from the film. Also in the box was a VHS copy of the film and a few more items from the movie as well. You could also purchase Top Notch caps and shirts.

I highly recommend visiting Top Notch whether or not you’ve seen Dazed And Confused. The movie was my main reason for visiting, but the food and the service were “top notch” as well. Top Notch is truly a cool experience, and I definitely plan on visiting again. Be sure to check out their Facebook page and their website for more information, history, upcoming events, and photos.

Thanks for checking out my post! I’ll have more Dazed And Confused posts popping up as I continue my year-long celebration of its thirty year anniversary along with Jurassic Park and Tombstone.

All photos by me.

Cult Classic: Santa Sangre (1989)

“My hands! My hands!”

Alejandro Jodorowsky takes viewers on a mind-bending ride in 1989’s Santa Sangre. In the film, a young man named Fenix goes on a killing spree at the request of his mother. The audience has to determine whether or not everything that is happening in the film is real or just a vision dreamed up by Fenix. It’s a bizarre film that definitely is not for everyone, but I really, really enjoyed it.

The film begins with Fenix in an asylum, fully nude and acting animalistic. We then go back in time to Fenix’ youth where he performs in his father’s circus as a magician. His mother, Concha, also performs at the circus and is a member of the cult of Santa Sangre. The cult is based around a young female folk saint who was brutally raped and then had her arms cut off by her assailants. The followers believe that a perpetual pool of the young girl’s blood flows at the site of the church. The property owner wants to destroy the church and when a local priest discovers that the pool of blood is nothing more than paint, he allows the destruction to proceed. Heartbroken, Concha and young Fenix return to the circus. Fenix befriends a young deaf mute girl and his father, Orgo, begins having an affair with the girl’s mother, the Tattooed Lady. When Concha discovers the Tattooed Lady and Orgo having sex, she throws acid on his crotch. In a rage, Orgo slices Concha’s arms off with his throwing knives. He then stumbles into the street and slices his own throat. The deaf mute girl, Alma, witnesses his suicide. Fenix is locked in a trailer and catches only glimpses of what is happening.

The audience is then brought back to the present where Fenix manages to escape from the asylum and reunites with his armless mother. The duo perform in a local stage show where Fenix plays his mother’s arms. Soon enough, the Tattooed Woman that Orgo was having an affair with is murdered. Then more women are murdered. It’s revealed that Concha is forcing Fenix to “be her arms” so that she can murder women whom she sees as a threat to her relationship with her son. Ultimately Alma and Fenix find one another and Fenix has to battle his mother in order to save Alma’s life. Is it all a dream? Where did Fenix get his tattoo? How did Concha survive Orgo’s attack? Watch Santa Sangre to find out!

At its core, the film is a tale of love, love of a son for his mother. Yeah, it’s a really twisted version of son/mother love, but it is love. Fenix is obviously unhinged after witnessing a number of traumatic events. He also knows that what he is doing is wrong and goes so far as to “fall” for a cross-dressing wrestler whom he believes is strong enough to fight him off and, possibly, murder him before he murders more women.

There are a number of disturbing scenes in this film. The original version received an NC-17 rating, but not for nudity or sexual situations. Nope, the rating was given due to the gory and disturbing violence. An R-rated version was also released, editing out some of the gore. Saying that, there’s still plenty of gore in the R-rated version and, as far as I know, all of the nudity and sexual situations are included as well. The majority of the nudity in the film comes during a dream sequence in which Fenix finds himself in a graveyard full of the women that he has murdered. All of them crawl out of their graves fully nude and painted white. There is nothing sexual at all about the sequence. In fact, it’s pretty disturbing. There are other, briefer moments of nudity as well, but they are also intended to disturb the viewer.

As far as the gore is concerned, there’s a ton of it in this film. From a group of people ripping flesh off of a dead elephant to buckets of blood flying out of Concha’s shoulders when her arms are cut off, this film has gore in spades. It is very unnerving to watch at times and I highly recommend watching it in a sober state. Oh, and did I mention that there are chickens falling out of the sky at one point? Unnerving indeed!

The film stars Axel and Adan Jodorowsky as adult and young Fenix, respectively. Concha is portrayed by Blanca Guerra. Orgo is played by Guy Stockwell. Thelma Tixou was the Tattooed Lady and her daughter, Alma, was portrayed as an adult by Sabrina Dennison and as a child by Faviola Elenka Tapia.

While I recommend watching this film, I can’t necessarily say that you’ll enjoy it. The intention of the film is to disturb you, so if that’s what you expect going in, you should be fine. The gore is plentiful and the nudity is unpleasant, so if you are expecting to be titillated, this is not the film for you.

Well, there you have it. Santa Sangre is a cult film in the truest of ways. Not only does it have a blood cult in it, it also has a massive cult following.

Thanks for checking out my post. I’ll be posting again real soon!