Rating: C+
Dir: Fernando San Miguel Villagómez
Star: Napoleon Rodriguez, Bárbara Arriaga, Rynn Reigns, Laura Aréchiga
The sooner you realize that nothing here is going to make particular sense, and abandon all hope of receiving anything close to an explanation, the better you will be able to appreciate this. Even the official synopsis on the IMDb is short of inaccurate, referring to a “bachelor party” which does not exist in any meaningful sense.The end credits are equally confusing. The role of Mark is listed as played by two people, Reigns and a “Rob Filson”. A Robert Filson is credited as playing an entirely different character, Jake. So, I dunno. It’s fitting, since this makes as much sense as the narrative; I’m just going to shrug and get on with the review.
Twelve months after his sister vanished, Mark – whoever is playing him – heads into Mexico with friends Jake and Alex (Rodriguez) in search of answers. Quite why Mark waited an entire year to take action is unclear; I presume he was otherwise engaged. We already have a clue as to what happened, having seen three young people explore a spooky church on the top of a hill, and… bad things happen. Please do not ask for specifics, as I am unqualified to provide any. It’s not long before Mark in particular starts experiencing visions and nightmares, some involving the shaman-like figure of the title. In Toltec lore, this was a person who, among other talents, could shapeshift into their spirit animal.
Things escalate for our boys, into blackouts and burst of violence. This overlaps with an all-girl get-together in a nearby cabin, whose attendees include Sarah (Arriaga) and Nichole (Aréchiga). That is probably as close as we get to that bachelor party, though it simply appears to be a source of cannon fodder for the resulting mayhem. Otherwise, it has little to offer except some mild lesbian canoodling, and several examples of bad acting in a second language. The guys, who can largely speak English, fare a little better. Eventually, the nahualli shows up again with more concrete advice, regarding exactly what Alex and Sarah must do to defeat the forces of evil. These have a long local history. There may also be an occult tome involved.
Despite the flimsiness of the narrative, I kinda enjoyed this – once I abandoned all hopes of coherence, and just bought into the dark, dream-like aesthetic, at least. Villagómez has a decent eye for visuals, and there were a number of shots where I was genuinely impressed by the style he was able to pull off, on what was obviously limited resources. The locations are creepy and effective too. I’m not sure whether the lack of explanation was a conscious choice, or those elements were edited out at some point. At barely seventy minutes before the end credits, it hardly seems overlong, yet it does feel at some points – notably the ending – as if scenes were missing. I’ll charitably presume the nightmarish, illogical tone is intended.
The film is currently streaming on Scareify, with other platforms to follow.