No one who is involved in making movies goes out of their way to make anything less than spectacular. This does not mean every movie is going to be gold, nor does it mean every movie is going to be trash either; there is a distinct knowledge that everyone involved in the project wants to put one hundred percent forward and create an atmosphere that delivers an incredible final project. The problem when you have five directors and three screenwriters is that there’re just too many creatives in the kitchen. While Satanic Hispanics certainly delivers on the anthology front, telling the story this way versus something more akin to the The ABCs of Death (2012) would have certainly been more beneficial.

A still from SATANIC HISPANICS. Photo courtesy of Brussels International Film Festival.

The problem with anthologies, and there are plenty, is that when bringing forth so many different creative forces, everything has to flow in some way or another. Whether it be a specific theme or subtheme, or a general story that touches each segment, something has to link the overarching narration story to the rest of the films throughout the anthology. If the film fails to do this, it essentially becomes a collection of shorts strung together. That is where the general issue comes with Satanic Hispanics. The movie mostly centers on The Traveler (Efren Ramirez), who warns a duo of El Paso cops Gibbons and Arden (Sonya Eddy and Greg Grunberg respectively) as they break into a home filled with dead Latinos and a lone survivor, being The Traveler. He is taken into questioning, and warns of damned spirit San La Muerte, also known as Saint Death, anticipating their arrival. While The Traveler is both the character and the name of the overarching segment, the four segments that Ramirez tells to interweave his story and warning, all contain some promise and premise, but ultimately all overstay their welcome bringing the viewing experience of this new anthology to a rather dull pace. There is a world where the movie could flourish, and that would be with a packed house of avid fans who will enjoy the antics on screen more than the home viewing crowd whose more likely to reach periodically for their phone and more than casually check the time.

Speaking of the home release, though, for Satanic Hispanics, since everyone continues to label physical media as a “dying art,” it is refreshing to see a movie that initially did fly under a lot of radars get a physical release, let alone that of a Blu-ray instead of the dreaded DVD. While there are tons of positives to a physical release, usually there is something to entice the customer to put out their hard earned money to add it to their limited shelf space rather then give a presumable blind watch a chance. Similar to the segments of Satanic Hispanics, again, the offerings are slim pickings for the release, having us question the hefty price tag: a director’s commentary track, a Dread Talk featurette, and a collection of trailers and promo materials. While the features are limited, the real reason that one would buy a movie is to watch the content, first and foremost.

A still from SATANIC HISPANICS. Photo courtesy of Brussels International Film Festival.

While the five (including The Traveler segment itself) are not all as great as anyone had hoped, there are two that stand out (we won’t spoil which, as that defeats the fun of watching an anthology), but the overall idea that they should tie together is missed, unfortunately. Overall, Satanic Hispanics delivers on a few segments, but as a collection of shorts that do not inherently flow together other than all being variations of horror, it’s more of a collection of shorts than a true anthology. The home releases packs a few features that can provide slightly more insight to the shorts themselves, but a more revered title for this collection of shorts should be Latin-Themed Horror Stories, rather than something that promises something inherently more interweaved.

Satanic Hispanics Special Features:

• Directors’ Commentary
• Dread Talk
• Theatrical Posters
• Official Trailer
• Dread Trailers

Available on Blu-ray December 19^th, 2023.

For theatrical release information, head to the official Satanic Hispanics website.
For more information, head to the official Dread Central Satanic Hispanics webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Satanic Hispanics webpage.

Categories: Home Release, Recommendation

Tags: Alejandro Brugués, Alejandro Mendez, anthology, Argentina, Ari Gallegos, comedy, Demián Rugna, Demián Salomón, Dread Central, Eduardo Sánchez, Efren Ramirez, English, Epic Pictures, foreign film, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Greg Grunberg, Hemky Madera, home release, home video, horror, Jacob Vargas, Jessica Cameron, Jonah Ray Rodrigues, Lino K. Villa, Lombardo Boyar, Luis Machin, Mexico, Michael C. Williams, Mike Mendez, Missy Merry, Morgana Ignis, MVD Entertainment Group, Nahuatl, Patricia Velásquez, Pete Barnstrom, Spanish, United States, Victoria Maurette