by Chris Learned Kane, Reporter

I confess I’m a fan of bad movies.   To be a bit clearer I’m fan of intentionally bad flicks.  I count Black Dynamite, Death Proof and Machete among my favorites in the aforementioned genre.  So naturally when I see a film written and produced by Robert Rodriguez (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City) come down the review pike, I snatch that sucker up quicker than a knife fight in phone booth.

A federal agent every bit as beautiful as she is deadly (Gizeht Galatea – Propiedad Ajena, Cristeros y Federales )  calls upon the services of a second generation curandero (a shaman who cures physical and spiritual ailments) to cleanse a police station.  What the curandero (Carlos Gallardo-Planet Terror, Desperado, El Mariachi) uncovers in the process sends the two on a dizzying journey through a terrifying Mexican underworld, a veritable abbatoir populated with unimaginable villains, and beasts to torment your sleep!

The Good

Gore.  Curandero: Dawn of the Demon excels in this area.  Combined with artful direction and interesting filter choices, director Eduardo Rodriguez (Fright Night 2, El Gringo) heaps monstrous portions of blood ‘n’ guts on to your plate!  If you’re a fan of quite literally buckets of blood, you’ll be delighted!

Practical FX! It is refreshing in the age of fantastic digital movie magic to see a horror film rely entirely on practical effects; costumes and latex, camera angles and editing to create illusion.   Curandero: Dawn of the Demon definitely took me back to that world of prosthetic and makeup wizardry.   Combine this with brilliant use of smash cuts and Eduardo Rodriguez ratchets up the scare factor!  Well done!

The Bad

Occasionally the cinematographer steps on his own foot.  Consider a particular shot in which our heroes are on the street conversing.  The shot is from inside a parked car looking out through the windshield.  In said windshield, partially obscuring our heroes, are the ghostly reflections of old receipts and miscellaneous papers strewn across the top of the dashboard.  The message comes through regardless: the heroes are being spied on, but the clumsy cinematography kicked me right out of the story.

The UGLY

The English Language adaptation/dubbing:  If I may make a suggestion to all potential viewers:  watch the original version en Español with English subtitles.   I didn’t, and I’m afraid I suffered a little for it.  The VO actors have a tendency to attach emotion inappropriate to the situation, making lines that mean little or nothing melodramatic and unintentionally humorous (consider the broken egg conversation).

Special Features

• Audio commentary with Director and DP

Overall 

Overall:  Although Curandero: Dawn of the Demon involves some supernatural tropes (demons, satanic cults and blood…lots of blood) author Robert Rodriguez presents these common elements with an old world, shamanistic horror that is as unique as it is blood curdling!  If you love Robert Rodriguez, and/or are a fan of splatterpunk cinema, then Curandero: Dawn of the Demon is not just for you, but required viewing!   As I only watched the dubbed version I feel it necessary and fair (to the director, actors and writer) to make clear that my rating reflects only the dubbed version of the film

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Curandero: Dawn of the Demon two blood filled huevos out of five!

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