#8 - Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)

(dir. Issa López)

A group of children, orphaned by the drug war in Mexico, live on the streets in constant fear of a violent gang that is hunting them down. Estrella, the only girl in the group, is also running from ghosts that she summoned as an unintended consequence of a wish - and since wishes always come in threes, she has two more to use while trying to survive. This is an excellent dark fairy tale set against a backdrop of horrific violence. There's no way to talk about this without comparing it to the work of Guillermo Del Toro, especially The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth. It's a Mexican horror/dark fantasy film where children use fantasy to cope with real-life violence and terror. Much like in Del Toro's films, the real horror comes not from the supernatural but from other people.

I really enjoyed this. It isn't quite as good as either of the films I just mentioned, but those set such a high bar that it's not really a dig on this film to say that. This isn't perfect - even though the effects are creative and unique, they are marred by some mediocre CGI that is often a bit distracting. It also occasionally feels a little, I dunno.. manipulative I guess? It goes for the emotional gut punch too often, in a way that I think detracted from the story a little. These are not huge complaints though, because overall I think the film really works.

I think it's safe to say that if you like Del Toro, you're gonna enjoy this as well. It was released in Mexico in 2017 but only just recently became available in the US (outside of film festivals). Currently streaming on Shudder. Side note, if you enjoy horror movies but don't subscribe to Shudder, I highly highly recommend it. It's cheap and has a ton of great content.