Really enjoyed this breakthrough by director Issa López.  Top notch child performances.  Smart use of  allegory applied to the horror genre. Great locations. 

Happy I saw it in a dark movie theater... always best way to see a horror film. Streaming on Shudder after its theatrical run I believe. 
Watched at Vancouver Intl. Film Center

This movie is really good! Surprisingly because most of the significant characters are kids which is usually the kiss of death for a horror movie! This movie seems poetic and is crafted beautifully! Check it out!

I loved this movie. It’s brutal, uncompromising and terrifying in ways that isn’t typical with horror but Issa blends stark realism like CITY OF GOD and the fantastical a la DEVIL’S BACKBONE and makes it work like cinematic poetry. 
Seek out immediately.

Equal parts heartbreaking and fantastically heartwarming... very much my kind of thing. I’ll never look at a tiger the same way again.

might be being a bit harsh here but the 10m of effective horror really does not make up for the fact that for most of its runtime this is virtually indistinguishable from every other simplistic misery/poverty porn drama; complete with insanely distracting and unmotivated handheld photography. might have to revisit the del toro movies people were comparing this too because the history/genre magical realism stuff did nothing for me here and now i'm wondering if this movie just doesn't pull it off or if it was kinda corny and dumb in those movies too.

I’ve been sitting on this one all day. The words have not come.

There is no need to invent monsters. What is more horrific than the world in which we live? The stories we tell are a way of making sense of the chaos—a way not to escape our reality but to reshape it.

This horror movie isn’t meant to scare you. It’s meant to give you courage.

I loved this! A dark fairy tale about five children clinging to life and surviving against the same deadly drug cartels who took their families and their futures. It's beautiful, heartbreaking, violent, unflinching, it's playing around with elements and visuals that you wouldn't necessarily expect, and at only 83 minutes long, this is a must-watch for me, albeit a very tough one, so be prepared.

#37 Entry in the | 52 Week Challenge 2025 |

My Last Review: | Snowtown |

certainly an interesting film to start the day

When you try to write like Stephen King but you don’t have enough cocaine in your system.

love me a horror film that depresses the shit out of me