Mexican horror

[Fenril]

Truth be told, Angeluz is a movie I enjoyed but that I felt had a needlessly complicated plot, especially in the second half.

[slayrrr666]

Oh, okay then. So, let me try it again:

-Angelus, a fallen angel living in modern-day Mexico as a Goth teenager to avoid suspicion for his activities, accidentally lets his powers be known when he saves his friends from a gang-attack.

-Dr. Vera, a worker at a secret government agency, is convinced of his identity through his family history of battling the creature and leads an expedition to capture him.

-While he's captured, Dr. Vera comes to believe Angelus is trying to be a good soul and doesn't want his grudge against humanity to overwhelm him, so he enlists his human friends to help break him out of the facility in order to help treat him.

-Despite their best attempts, Angelus' anger gets the best of him and causes him to run rampant through the government facility, forcing them to come together to remind him of his need to be a good soul so he can return to Heaven again.

So, is that what's going on in this one? Thanks so much for this, I guess it's the price I pay for not speaking the language, I really appreciate this.

[Fenril]

You got it and you're welcome.

[slayrrr666]

Hmm, so that is indeed quite a complicated plotline. Probably could've been fixed quite easily so it doesn't seem so scattered and disjointed, as that seems like it's two movies rolled into one, the teenage-plot part where he has to save them, and then the government-study angle where the doctor tries to save him. Doesn't really seem like they go together as they do here.

And again, thanks so much for the help with this one. I doubt it'll be the last time. ;D

[Fenril]

Nov 23, 2010 10:47:26 GMT -5 slayrrr666 said:

Hmm, so that is indeed quite a complicated plotline. Probably could've been fixed quite easily so it doesn't seem so scattered and disjointed, as that seems like it's two movies rolled into one, the teenage-plot part where he has to save them, and then the government-study angle where the doctor tries to save him. Doesn't really seem like they go together as they do here.

I agree with this, I think it's one of those cases where the screenwriter and director had enough ideas for two or three movies but didn't know if they would have the chance to do all of them, so they made one and threw everything in the mix.

I'd have dropped the entire goverment-study part and kept the focus on the teenagers.

[slayrrr666]

You probably could've split it up as a sequel quite easily.

Have the first part be both a background examination (Dr. Vera's family history would be included here) and then have him wandering around through the centuries trying to help mankind before finally achieving peace as the Goth teenager in modern times, but when his friends start to get tormented by a gang, he uses his powers to save them, which alerts the modern-day Dr. Vera to his plight and identity and have part 1 end with his abduction after dispatching the gang in their hideout.

Part 2 would then be him in the facility trying to establish the past history and legacy he has, followed by a series of freak occurrences around the place, which spell out to Dr. Vera that he's not going to change and that his friends, still being held by the government, might be of some help to him and they go try to save him, but that only gives him enough time to escape and go crazy on the staff, leading them to try to stop him as he runs around the facility.

Might be a little bit overwhelming, but it wouldn't have been as brain-scratching as it was, plus I would've gotten an extra film from the country to watch.

[Fenril]

Even better, the entire plotline with Vera's ancestor could have been a prequel.

[slayrrr666]

No, I'd rather have that be the first part. It's sort of a weird thing with me, but I hate the concept of the prequel. I think it's entirely lame and quite stupid.

If you're starting off a franchise, you're doing so at a specific point and time in that particular universe, so that means you have to spell out everything that you want it to be known in that particular universe: the rules, the way of life, etc. and then start with the story you want to tell. Having part one of a franchise tell a specific story, then have a later entry go back even further in time and explain why it's the way it was in part 1 is just head-scratching and irritating. Couldn't you have done that part as the first movie? It's laying the groundwork and setting everything up for the later ones to build on. You start the first film the earliest time you need to tell your story, then each subsequent film goes into the future from that point onward.

To me, the best example of a franchise doing it right is the Resident Evil series. Each one is a step further into the future as she goes about trying to find out why she's the way she is, and we don't go back in part 3 to find out why she's the way she is from part 1. I think that's a franchise doing it right.

The worst example of my feelings are the Underworld films. Part 3 explains why we're the way we are from part 1, so had I done the series, Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans would actually be just Underworld; the Underworld as we know it would be Underworld: Evolution, and Underworld: Evolution as we know it is now Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans or whatever sub-title I'd call it. Maybe I'd leave it, but that's not the point, I'd redo the series so that the first entry in a franchise is always the earliest in time chronologically and get everything cleared out before I move forward. If I thought of something cool that I would've loved to but in part 1 but now I'm working on part 4, too fucking bad. Knowing the way I am, I'd just start up a whole new film just to work that one idea I had into it. Believe me, I'd do that.

So overall, I'd rather have left the backstory part as the first entry and then the second entry would be the continuation if I had done the Angeluz series.

And on another note, I noticed in my TV guide another Mexican horror film coming on TV, Santo y Blue Demon contra Dracula y el Hombre-lobo, which if I can use my recently acquired translation skills, translates into Santo and Blue Demon vs Dracula and The Wolfman. This'll be my first Santo film, and I know there's been quite a few of those, so I'm looking forward to this one.

[Fenril]

There's like a thousand Santo movies, a thousand Blue Demon movies and at least ten teaming them up. In fact, Lucha libre or Luchadores films are pretty much a separate genre in Mexico which ocassionally crosses over into horror, fantasy and even porn.

This one, the Dracula and Wolfman one's a pretty good introduction to the genre (you've already seen one, Night of the bloody apes), hope you enjoy it.

[slayrrr666]

Well, I knew there was a handful when I noticed that there was a bunch listed from Rene Cardona when I was looking through his page on IMDb after seeing Bloody Apes, but that's a pretty high number. I didn't know that, but as I taped it to watch it later last night, I'll give it a shot soon especially since I found another one airing even later in the week, Los Vampiros de Coyoacan, which I think features another luchador right? My TV guide doesn't give me enough information to fully get everything I want from it, but I saw the word in there so I'm guessing it's another example of the genre, and even better news, now I can make a full foreign marathon with the Santo one I taped last night, plus the Night Watch/Day Watch films over the weekend so it'll be a full helping of foreignness next Monday.

I can't believe this, but now I'm giddy at the prospect of watching these Mexican horror films, I feel like I've found an untapped source of entertainment in the genre that I just discovered I had all along, and who knows what I've missed not looking into these. I guess that means I'm being exposed to quality, am I right?

[Fenril]

Dec 1, 2010 11:18:57 GMT -5 slayrrr666 said:

I found another one airing even later in the week, Los Vampiros de Coyoacan, which I think features another luchador right? My TV guide doesn't give me enough information to fully get everything I want from it, but I saw the word in there so I'm guessing it's another example of the genre, and even better news, now I can make a full foreign marathon with the Santo one I taped last night, plus the Night Watch/Day Watch films over the weekend so it'll be a full helping of foreignness next Monday.

Yep, two luchadores in fact, Mil Máscaras and Superzan.

Dec 1, 2010 11:18:57 GMT -5 slayrrr666 said:

I can't believe this, but now I'm giddy at the prospect of watching these Mexican horror films, I feel like I've found an untapped source of entertainment in the genre that I just discovered I had all along, and who knows what I've missed not looking into these. I guess that means I'm being exposed to quality, am I right?

...of a certain sort, yes.

Have a good time, hope you enjoy all those films.

[slayrrr666]

Superzan, that name is awfully familiar. Wasn't he the one that starred in the very first Mexican luchador movie? I could've sworn that was where I saw the name, but I can't say for certain.

[slayrrr666]

So, saw the two luchador films, and came away completely blown away with regards to enjoyment on both of them.

Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and The Wolfman was a lot of fun, with it's cheese and action mixed together so well. From the brawling with the henchmen in the warehouse to the two wrestling matches in the beginning and the finale in the caves, which was a huge plus since it adds in Gothic atmosphere to the whole event as well as the action between the wrestlers and the werewolf henchmen makes for an exciting time. The vampire activity early on was fun as well, and it's few creepy scenes with them trying to lure the daughter away was pretty good. Plus, I don't think there was anything in the plot that would really confuse me as I seemed to follow it incredibly easily despite the language barrier.

I do have to say, though, they were some of the laziest superheroes I've ever seen. They didn't really seem to do anything other than stand around talking with the father who called them together or with the police investigators, and the one that really got me, playing chess together in the final half-hour when they know what's going on just waiting for the vampire attack. I just thought that was kinda goofy and really didn't show them in a smart light, and while I get that's what they are, the scenes of them trying to sneak around in stealth-mode while wearing their luchador masks was a chuckle-worthy sight. The easy defeat of the creatures at the end also didn't help since they were done that didn't showcase their powers in any form, but I really didn't have too many complaints about this one.

The Vampires of Coyoacan was admittedly better, I thought, even though it seemed that the vampires weren't really doing all that much. The ending was incredibly rushed and didn't really do anything to help the sense of fear in the creatures and some of the cheese could be off-putting, especially once the lead turns into his vampiric form. Again, like in Santo, the fact that they're sneaking around in full wrestling gear, complete with capes and bright, sparkly tights, was kinda chuckle-inducing, since Santo and Blue Demon wore civilian clothes with the masks, not the bright gear these guys wore.

Though, seeing as how both of these films, featuring completely different wrestlers, was done in such a manner where they go around in wrestling gear, I'm guessing that's something to be said for the genre so I'll have to learn how to give that a pass in the future. I still think the Santo/Blue Demon one did it right in the civilian ensemble, not the brightness of these guys, but I'm sensing that's something all of these films do, right?

I will say, though, the positives were far greater. The fact that they were always doing something rather than standing around with their thumbs up their ass made them seem more proactive than Santo and Blue Demon, plus as time went on their garish costumes started looking pretty cool. The action is really cool, mainly the brawl on the front yard where, confronted by the vampire and his henchmen, whenever they attempt to slam someone they turn into bats was a great effect, the alter resurrection ceremony was a nice old-school Gothic touch, and then comes the one moment where it won me over, the extended brawl with the vampire midgets. Original, unexpected and utterly funny plus really enjoyable, stuff like that really got me over on this one, and coupled with a smart and cleverly-hidden recreation of Bram Stoker's Dracula in the beginning stages with the seduction of the daughter made for a highly impressive effort, together with Santo to make for a good introduction into the luchador style of Mexican horror.

The listings now read as follows:

1. Grave Robbers
2. Cemetery of Terror
3. Fangs of the Werewolf
4. Don't Panic
5. The Vampires of Coyoacan
6. The Beast is Alive
7. Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and The Wolfman
8. Night of the Bloody Apes
9. Killer Bees
10. Angel of Light
11. Tintorera!
12. The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy
13. The Mansion of Madness
14. The Man and the Beast
15. Santa Sangre

[slayrrr666]

Yes, found another one on my TV: Colmillos de Furia. The second one, which is Fangs of Fury correctly translated, right, will be on TV shortly so now I can finish off what I thought was a pretty fun entry the first time around.

[slayrrr666]

I can add another one to the list now, Trampa Infernal or Hell's Trap.

I really enjoyed the fact that there was a lot of action in this one, it kept moving and really didn't do a whole lot that slowed the pace down, as it tends to get the killer introduced quite early on with the kids in the woods so it has a lot of time with them just wandering around trying to hide from his attacks, a nice sight that goes well with the quality of the attacks, as the one on the jeep and at the souvenir trailer are pretty enjoyable, and the final showdown is all sorts of awesome with it's stalking, shootouts and guerrilla warfare tactics being played. That alone made it quite entertaining on my end.

Though it does present itself one up for one of the biggest of several big flaws in the film: the lack of a cohesive horror atmosphere. By mixing in the tone and feel of an American action film towards the middle segment by introducing automatic weapons into the fray, it robs the film of, one, the opportunity for graphic deaths since that was a pretty nifty device he used beforehand, but now by bringing in the machine guns, there's no chance for a blunt object to be used and it's quite a noticeable factor, but two, there's hardly any suspense or tension to come about during those moments and it's really only due to the fact of the general plotline that there was any there at all, so it was a bad move all around. Even putting the killer out there so early into the film wasn't all that impressive, robbing of any thrills to be had by guessing the identity of who was doing it all, and the revelation later on of it being a mask was a lousy save. But overall, it was the lack of atmosphere that really hurt this one for me.

The list now reads as follows:

1. Grave Robbers
2. Cemetery of Terror
3. Fangs of the Werewolf
4. Don't Panic
5. The Vampires of Coyoacan
6. The Beast is Alive
7. Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and The Wolfman
8. Night of the Bloody Apes
9. Killer Bees
10. Hell's Trap
11. Angel of Light
12. Tintorera!
13. The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy
14. The Mansion of Madness
15. The Man and the Beast
16. Santa Sangre