Horror anthology movies is a genre we have seen for years. The horror genre has given us countless anthology films, where many short stories also exist as separate entities from an overall plot of the film. Trick’ R’ Treat, The ABC’s of Death and VHS are examples of great horrors anthologies among others. It’s quite underrated, with few masterpieces but many pretty good films. This is what 2023’s horror anthology Satanic Hispanics aims to continue.
Satanic Hispanics is a Latino team behind and in front of the camera that wants to bring out a culturally relevant horror story rooted in some terrifying folklore. To this end, Satanic Hispanics pays homage to the various traditions linked to Latino background while those involved in its making showcase their abilities within the horror genre.
It may not be one of the best works in the horror anthology genre but it might be up there or atleast something different. Each part explores a different subgenre in the horror franchise such as ghost story, comedy-horror film, scary demonic possession and Green Inferno-type sacrificing storyline. All sections are enticing on their own due to captivating performances and an occasionally over-the-top style that can also be very creepy at times giving the movie its terrifying yet fun aspect despite being comedic too. There are some really effective jump scares here which together with the haunting environment will keep you shaking most of them away when they happen until you get out of their way completely hence leaving you thinking twice before walking into darkness again next time since you never know who might just pop up from nowhere.Satanic Hispanics is another entry into the genre that proves why 2023 has been excellent for horror.
Opening with a police raid on an abandoned factory filled with blood and numerous dead bodies, Satanic Hispanics begins weirdly enough with gore. After quick searching by heavily armored law enforcers , they find an unconscious male victim sitting on a chair holding gun while chained to a wrist with a chain. Suddenly, The chain starts moving. As the unconscious male victim raises his gun against the law enforcers and they shoot back. Following the chain leads them to another one with an awake person attached to it who is also chained down on the floor but not for long – he starts hacking off his hand with a meat cleaver.
It’s an uncomfortable start to the movie that continues as the conscious victim is taken into custody where he is interrogated by two detectives. This guy claims he’s immortal while telling stories full of creepiness, weirdness, and humor about some terrifying Latin mythology.
One of the most interesting parts of Satanic Hispanics that are subtitled in part is its broad inclusion of Latin culture, which is largely missing from English-speaking horror films (though some of the best horror movies are Spanish-language). If you are interested in culturally true Hispanic horror then this might be one of your favorites recently.
Each story has its own moments of greatness. Some are far better than others, but each offer a different kind of effect that can hook you distinctly. Whether you need a laugh from a horror/comedy or experience haunting ghost tales or want to go through blood-drenched sacrifices into sheer terror; Satanic Hispanics will have plenty for any scary movie fan out there.
“Chapter 2: El Vampiro” is definitely the most engaging of the storylines in the movie. It’s a side-splittingly mad and wildly entertaining short story that should be made into a full-length feature film where a vampire goes home after night’s feeding from the blood of innocent people, which can be likened to an intoxicated man trying drunkenly to find his way back home from a bar. Before dawn breaks, this vampire has quite adventuresome moments. He has an amusing discussion with his wife via phone, he stole an electric scooter, suffered three eggs throw at his face by some teenage hoodlums, maybe he was even caught by policemen. The short is a warm ending to “El Vampiro,” making it amusing but thrilling ride.
Another favorite is the first chapter, which delves more into the supernatural side of things. All Hail Satan provides an amazing amount of frights through characters you end up caring about and one killer twist at the end that needs not to be spoiled. No story here is bad just that these stories are among the most interesting and best ones in this anthology film. It makes Satanic Hispanics rather top heavy but it’s good for half a feature length movie.
Satanic Hispanics overall atmosphere is spooky but fun as hell. Mostly it’s really creepy with many places where you can really get scared but mixed up with comedy as well.” However funny this might have been in “El Vampiro,” it just seems so out of place when we see such jokes going on even during parts that should typically be serious like police interrogations — was this intentional? Sometimes though, performances and dialogue may come off cheesy especially on scenes such as these hence they appear slightly artificial without removing our suspension.
However quite unbelievably for a horror film; in fact most of them never do say that about themselves; many jump scares in Satanic Hispanics are actually scary enough to make you jump out of your chair. In most cases, these are predictable, although the movie’s placement and timing could still deliver a number of really good ones.” Satanic Hispanics is a chiller that has some suspenseful instances with grotesque makeup; also its score is quite energetic and its characters look natural…”Such an intention works well in “El Vampiro,” but seems out of place in the police interrogation scenes which could have been more serious. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not because at times the performances and dialogue can be a bit corny, but not so much as to detract from the overall experience.
Also, for most parts in the stories like Chapter 1 and Chapter 3, it remains creepy. More specifically, Satanic Hispanics uses tension brilliantly thereby forcing viewers to watch every moment closely. It’s definitely far from being the best horror anthology ever made but certainly it’s among those having a very strong voice.” Any horror fan would love to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month by watching this film.
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